


Shells

by ryttu3k



Category: Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Abusive Relationship, BDSM, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Bad Decisions, Consent Issues, Dominance, Dubious Consent, M/M, Masochism, Not Safe Sane and Consensual, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Slavery, Stockholm Syndrome, Submission, Uninformed Consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-29
Updated: 2012-11-25
Packaged: 2017-11-17 07:03:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryttu3k/pseuds/ryttu3k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's hard to be a hero. But when Sheik finds a possible solution to Link's dilemma, will the cure be worse than the curse? What exactly has he got himself in to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Neither Kernal Nor Shell

**Author's Note:**

> First and foremost, a warning - this piece deals heavily with issues of consent, including not having the ability to give informed consent. While this is addressed by the end of the piece, there are potentially triggering scenes involving coercion and manipulation, and 'consent' gained through that, as well as non-consensual scenes that are addressed earlier in the piece. There is also the portrayal of a non-safe, sane, consensual, highly unhealthy, abusive D/s relationship, which should not be used as a guide to actual D/s or BDSM (I'm looking at you, Fifty Shades of Grey!). With that in mind, it'd be best to avoid this piece if issues of consent are triggering.
> 
> This piece could not have been completed without the beta-ing, advice, and workshopping of Chao-chan. Any further errors are my own and should not reflect on her.

If this was what being a hero was, Link wanted no part of it.

Throwing himself down against a tree at the outskirts of the forest, he drew his legs up to his chest, dropped his head to his knees, and let himself fall limp with a little sigh of exhaustion and resignation. The Forest Temple had been hellish, a trial well beyond anything he had seen in Dodongo's Cavern or even inside Jabu Jabu's belly, and if what the other boy - Sheik, was that what his name had been? - had said was right, he still had four more temples to go.

And he was exhausted, physically and emotionally.

Just a day ago, he had been a child, unsure where this game of the Princess's would lead to, unknowing what it would throw him into. How could he have predicted that picking up an old sword in a dusty temple would lead to this?

His home in ruins, the people he had grown up against strangers, his best friend gone, possibly forever.

Even his own body no longer fitted, like the clothes he would periodically grow out of in the forest. Surely that should have been the first clue - that he grew, that he got bigger? Sure, there were Kokiri who were taller than him - that had been taller than him, he corrected himself, he now towered over even the tallest - but he had never seen any of the others grow.

His legs felt too long, his feet were too big. He stumbled and tripped, a misstep cause for injury in the monster-laden forest and the temple that laid beyond the borders of the village.

Even here, he could see it - a dim speck in the distance, illuminated by the drifting fairies and fireflies and wisps that called the forest their home. Here, they mostly left him alone - Navi rested in an exhausted heap beneath a fold of the blanket he had found in Kakariko, her glow dimmed enough in sleep to make out the shape of tiny limbs.

But the other fairies wanted nothing more to do with him.

He wasn't a child of the forest. He never had been.

"What do I do?" he asked the air, voice soft and unsteady and cracking a little. There was too much ahead of him - too much responsibility, the promise of fear and pain and a battle he definitely didn't feel ready for ahead of him. He had barely survived the phantom.

His eyes felt hot.

Saria, his only friend, the only one that had ever treated him like a person, was gone. And even then, a nasty little voice whispered unpleasantries - he remembered her proclaiming that Navi meant he was finally a real Kokiri. Had even she never seen him as one of them?

His throat was tight.

But he wasn't. He had had a family, one he'd never meet. He was not a Kokiri, but a Hylian. He belonged to a culture he knew nothing of, and if he was certain of nothing else, he was certain of this one fact - he could never again return to the forest.

It was no longer his home. It never, truly, had been - just a temporary shelter for him to grow up in time to become the hero.

And he did not want it any more.

"What do I _do_?" he asked again, and let his head fall back against the trunk. His vision was smudging at the edges, eyes itching like dust had been blown in them. There was dampness on his face from rain that couldn't have fallen from the dry skies. He felt utterly alone.

No answer came.

Wiping his cheeks, Link exhaled roughly, settling down to burrow against the blankets.

Now what?

 

Link wasn't sure what had brought him back to the Temple of Time, late that night, sleeplessness his only companion in the forest.

Answers, perhaps, or perhaps a way to see Saria - when he had left the Chamber of the Sages the first time, it had been here that he had awakened. Perhaps here was an entryway, one that he could find if he just looked hard enough...

"You destroyed the creatures in the temple?" a quiet voice remarked, and Link whirled around, hair prickling at the back of his neck, sword in his hand. But Sheik, relaxing with the lyre in his lap against one wall of the chamber, seemed unbothered, gazing up at him calmly. "Good. But there are still other sages who need your help."

With a sigh, Link sheathed the sword again. "I guess so," he said hollowly, sinking down on the steps leading to the platform. "On a high mountain - I guess that's the Gorons."

The Sheikah nodded, his gaze inscrutable. Link, for a moment, felt as if he was being carefully examined, like a craftsman might look over a piece of art he had created. "You are correct. To help them, you must become more powerful - you must travel over mountains, under water, and even through time."

Time - that had started it all, hadn't it?

"What does it mean?" he asked quietly, and Sheik lifted his head, gazing at him uncertainly. "'The Hero of Time' - it's a really important-sounding name, but I don't know how to do it. How do you be a hero?"

Sighing, Sheik shrugged with one shoulder. "I suppose that's something you'll have to work out in your own time," he remarked, "A destiny that has been laid at your feet. No one else can be the Hero of Time - you must learn to do so yourself. Perhaps you can forge a new path."

"I've never forged a path before." Petulantly, Link kicked at the stairs. "No one even liked me in the forest aside from Saria, and she's gone. How come I have to save everyone when no one even likes me?"

A shift of fabric, and Sheik stood, moving to settle beside Link. "There are more who think fondly of you than you'd think," he pointed out, "In your travels as a child, you met many who were touched by you and your deeds."

Darunia, Link's mind supplied helpfully, who he wouldn't have been surprised to see at the mountain. Malon, perhaps. Maybe - and he winced a little at the thought - Ruto. "But it's hard." His voice had fallen, barely above a whisper. "In the Forest Temple - it felt like everything wanted to kill me. There was a phantom version of Ganondorf..." Link's voice cracked, stomach twisting uncomfortably. "He - it - it nearly beat me. What if all the temples are like that?"

"Then you'll rise to the challenge." Sheik reached out, setting two fingers beneath Link's chin and lifting his head. "You were chosen to be the Hero of Time because the Goddesses knew you were capable of bearing the burden. If you do not do this..." He trailed off, shaking his head in resignation. "Then I suppose we must get used to living under _his_ rule."

Link felt his heart fall in his chest, a wince twisting on his lips - Sheik's words had some truth to them. "I know I have to do something. I just don't know what... I'm..."

 _Scared._ But heroes weren't supposed to be scared, were they?

Lifting a hand, Link clung to the one resting against his chin, a silent plea on his lips. "Sheik, tell me what to _do_."

For a moment, there was something unreadable in those red eyes, a flicker of something that Link could not understand and could not even begin to guess at. Worry, for his sake? Revulsion and disgust, at the so-called hero's cowardice? Pity, perhaps, and understanding? Maybe, just maybe, he knew what had to be done.

"For now," Sheik said slowly, "Get some sleep, and tomorrow, make your way to the mountain. It burns with fire - it will be your next task. Do not tarry."

Stubbornly, Link did not let go of his hand. Sheik may have been a virtual stranger, but he was one of the few people he knew who did not look at him like he was a stranger, an oddity from the forest to be remarked on and whispered about behind people's backs. "Will I see you again?" he asked, gaze fixed on light skin against dark.

There was the briefest of hesitations. "I will see you again," he finally promised, and withdrew his hand. "But first, I have one last thing to teach you before I go..."

The ocarina heavy in Link's hands, he gazed down at it, heart heavy at what he had learned. "I think it's supposed to be good," he said quietly, "Knowing that I can go back. But I can't go back, can I? Not really. Even if I do, I still don't belong there."

"Home is what you make of it," Sheik told him, and his eyes crinkled a little. Had he smiled? Link felt the sudden urge to see what laid beneath the mask. "I imagine you'll find a place to belong sooner or later. And through it, you will know what to do."

 _What do I do?_ came the echoing refrain, and Link felt a faint smile twist at his lips. Had Sheik been watching after him?

"Thanks," he murmured, standing, reaching out to catch Sheik's hand again. "Um - I guess I'll see you at the mountain." He smiled, tentative and uncertain, not quite sure why his stomach felt quite so odd around the stoic Sheikah.

"You will," Sheik nodded. And before Link could even react, he tugged the mask down, brushing his lips against Link's in a barely-there kiss.

Even when the flash of light dazzled his eyes, hiding the Sheikah's departure, Link found himself left smiling.

 

The mountain had been restless that day.

Tektites and rockfalls had become a fact of life, and Link had accumulated more than a few bruises by the time he reached the entrance to Goron City. He'd rest there for a moment, see how the Gorons were before pressing on to the peak - distantly, he remembered the blast of heat that he had felt near the fairy fountain a few days earlier - no, seven years earlier, the time gone forever.

Was he expected to go in there? How was he supposed to survive?

The first thing that struck Link as he entered the city was the silence - there was no music, no deep 'oom's and 'oop's from its residents. Link pressed forward curiously, hearing only a rhythmic crash and rattle - a single Goron spinning in determined circles around a lower level.

Was this the one he had seen before? Link clambered down carefully, pressing himself back against the wall hastily as it bounced by.

No - it was smaller. A child? Undaunted, Link pressed on after it.

He wanted answers.

 

And he had them. Kitted out in a red tunic, the thick fabric heavy on his back and the hat hefty on his head, Link made for Darunia's room feeling distinctly out of sorts.

The Gorons were gone, then. Now, it wouldn't just be himself in danger - if he didn't do this, then he would be responsible for the deaths of almost an entire race, should he happen to fail. Shoving his shoulder against the statue, he pushed, the uncertainty dizzying and nauseating.

Why was he the one to do this? Why was he the one chosen to be the hero?

At least the tunic was doing what it was advertised to do, keeping the heat at bay, stifling but tolerable as he entered the crater. Sheik was meant to meet him here, wasn't he? He had said he'd see him at the mountain, didn't he? Link sucked in a breath, coughing at the sudden lungful of ashes, and scanned the rippling air.

There - a platform like the one in front of the Forest Temple. Frowning at the broken bridge, Link reached for the hookshot and propelled himself across, scrambling back on to relatively stable footing and making his way forward.

Naturally, that was when Sheik had made his entrance.

"It is something that grows over time - a true friendship," he mused, and Link smiled faintly.

"Are we friends?" he asked quietly, not quite sure why his every muscle strained as he waited for an answer.

They barely knew each other. The kiss in the Temple of Time aside, why did it matter to him if his mysterious guide saw him as a friend?

Something very much like amusement flashed across the Sheikah's eyes. "You know, I do have words to recite," he said pointedly, then shook his head. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. Yes, I expect we are friends."

Link nodded once, a faint smile on his face that faded almost immediately. "That's good. The Gorons are all gone - the temple is pretty close, isn't it?"

Nodding, Sheik gestured in the direction of a stone entrance, blocked by a few large rocks. "It lies beyond there. You must find a way to open the path, but..." He shrugged. "I'm sure it is in your repertoire."

"Bombs," Link murmured, gazing in the direction of the temple. "Okay. What will I find in there?"

Another phantom? He wasn't sure he would win this time, if Ganondorf chose to send a stronger enemy for him to fight.

"I really could not say." Sheik turned, starting for the platform and gesturing for Link to follow. "Have you rested?"

Following, Link settled beside him, shifting the sword out of the way. "I slept out in the field," he admitted, shoulders shifting a little in memory of the night before. "Navi watched out for me. There aren't any Stalchildren any more, it's weird."

From his collar, where Navi had perched to get some shelter from the blasting heat, there was a shudder. "Thank the Goddesses, because they're _really_ creepy!" she complained, peering over at Sheik from just inside the tunic.

Sheik gave her a nod of acknowledgment. "They are the remains of child soldiers and other children who died in the many wars and who were buried in mass graves in the fields," he remarked, catching himself when he caught Link's look of horror.

"They're actual dead children?" he asked, voice strained, quietly vowing to never strike at another. From beneath his collar, Navi gave another shudder.

"What did you think they were?" Sheik asked gently, then shook his head, withdrawing his lyre. "It is a feeling that grows over time - a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time..."

A feeling in the heart. Still feeling faintly queasy at the revelation of what Stalchildren were, Link glanced across at Sheik. Was that what he felt when he looked at him?

"The passion of friendship will soon bloom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go." Here, Sheik looked up, the cloth across his face just dislodged enough for Link to see the shift in muscles that indicated a smile. "I promise. This song is dedicated to the power of the heart - listen to the Bolero of Fire."

The ocarina at his lips, Link let his eyes fall shut. The power of the heart... notes committed to memory, he lowered the instrument. "Do you think I can do this, Sheik?"

Hands free of the lyre once more (where had it gone, anyway?), Sheik nodded once. "As I told you last night, the Goddesses chose you because you are capable of this task. You will find a way."

Link smiled weakly. "Thanks," he murmured, then reached out to catch Sheik's hand. "Will you come with me? I bet..." His voice faltered for a moment - was it fair to put Sheik in danger, too? "I bet we could get it done quicker."

"I cannot," Sheik told him, "I'm afraid that I can't withstand this heat for much longer. But if you like..."

He trailed off, and Link gazed at him expectantly.

"If you'd like, I will meet you at the top of the mountain when your task is complete."

A smile crossed Link's face at that, the first genuinely hopeful thing he had heard in days. "I'd like that," he said quietly, glancing at the ground then up again, realising he was still holding Sheik's hand. "Will you kiss me again, too?"

Blinking in sheer astonishment, Sheik broke into an actual laugh, soft and amused. "If you would like me to," he said gravely, "Then you can consider it your reward for a job well done once you finish clearing the temple and you've awakened the Sage of Fire."

A bit of motivation was an ever useful thing. Link smiled gratefully, feeling his stomach flip just at the very idea of it. "Thanks. I'll see you soon, then."

As he stood to make his way to the temple, hearing rather than seeing the crack and flash of the Deku nut, he could only hope it would be enough.

 

The Goron tunic might have been heat-proof, but it was not, Link had discovered, fire-proof.

And third-degree burns, he had learnt, hurt. A lot.

By the time he emerged into the cool night air, the mountain already calmer, he was staggering. Waves of agony kept attempting to knock him from his feet, vision blurring, the ground underfoot unsteady. Navi, for all it meant, did her best to keep him standing - but what could such a small being do for someone his size?

"Just a little further, Link," she told him reassuringly, "We're nearly at the fountain, then it'll feel all better... just a few more steps, Link!"

Link nodded muzzily, sweat-soaked bangs falling before his eyes, vaguely set feet meandering towards the fairy fountain. He couldn't feel his right shoulder, nor the upper part of his arm - but the edges hurt enough that he longed to simply lie down and be unconscious.

"You can do it," Navi continued, tugging at his tunic, "Come on, just a bit more - Sheik! Over here!"

At the sound of the Sheikah's name, Link attempted to turn, felt the ground tip, and found himself caught up in a pair of arms before he hit the rock.

His focus wavered. Sheik was still smaller than him, but he was strong, stronger than an inch-tall fairy was, and now he had almost reached the Triforce mark before the fountain.

Hitting the tiles, cool beneath his fevered skin, was a blessing, the sound of Zelda's lullaby on the lyre a balm for his exhausted, injured body. The Great Fairy's laugh was dim and distant, but even as the pain began to fade, his focus began to re-emerge.

In the Chamber of the Sages, facing Darunia as he said goodbye, he had felt no pain. After that, the world had become somewhat of a blur.

Now, though, he was able to push himself up, exhaling through the mouth as he gazed up at the Great Fairy, at Sheik, and at Navi. "Thanks," he croaked, and the Great Fairy dipped her head to him.

"When battle has made you weary, please come back to see me," she murmured, and disappeared back into her fountain.

When battle had made him weary...

There was a hand before him. Link blinked once, then glanced up at it, following the hand up Sheik's arm to his face. "Thanks," he repeated, accepting the offered hand and staggering to his feet. "There was a dragon in there - it burnt me."

Automatically, he shifted his shoulder. He could no longer feel the damage - only the faintest hint of red marred his skin.

But part of the tunic and undershirt had been burnt away, the shirt beneath it frayed and charred around the edges. Suddenly, Link was glad he hadn't been able to see what the flames had done to his skin.

"It's healed now, at least," Sheik said with a shrug, letting go of Link's hand. "Come with me - I have set up camp already."

Link was only too happy to follow Sheik out of the fountain, taking a path he hadn't even noticed before. It was narrow, but at the very least, his feet did not falter - the healing of his injuries had done him good. Quietly, Navi settled on his good shoulder, glow a little subdued after the ordeals of the Fire Temple.

The place Sheik led him to was a hidden pocket on the face of the mountain, protected from the wind and the rain by a slab of rock taller than Link was. Edging around it, Sheik immediately busied himself with the fire, directing Link to a bundle of supplies near the back.

"Will you set up the bedrolls?" he asked calmly, busying himself with stoking the fire, and Link nodded, setting down his own belongings.

The blankets were soft and warm, and Link spent a content minute running his fingers over the fabric, tracing the exotic-looking patterns that edged them. Beside them was a leather pack, also embroidered, with soft and fluffy bread within, fresh fruit, bottles of sparkling, clean water, and some sort of dish of grains and fish in a sealed ceramic container.

Where had Sheik found such fine things? The blanket he had got from Kakariko had been threadbare. All they had been able to spare in terms of food was the barest of staples - an end of half-stale bread, a wedge of hard cheese, a few mealy apples left too long in the corner of a storeroom. This seemed luxurious beyond anything he had ever seen before, exceeding both the foraged meals he had eaten in the forest and the meagre rations he had managed to get outside of it.

He was silent as he set the blankets out into bedrolls, and Sheik busied himself over the fire, heating the grains and fish in a neat copper pot, the smell of exotic spices filling the little cave. "Is that Sheikah food?" Link ventured once, and receiving only a shake of the head, fell silent again.

Even after their encounter with the fairy, he still hurt. It had been... unpleasant, pushing through the blistering heat, flinching back from spouts of flame, the smell of volcanic gases sending him reeling. The desperate terror of the Gorons, huddled in shaking balls as they awaited being eaten... had they all made it out alright? Or had the monsters managed to catch even them, too?

And what of Darunia? What had happened to him, to Saria, for them to awaken as sages? Would he ever see either of them again, his sworn brother, his best friend, the closest thing to true family he had ever had?

How many more would have to suffer like this in order for Hyrule to be free?

"Sheik," he ventured quietly, "Is there any other way to save Hyrule?"

Bent over the copper pot, Sheik stilled. "Why do you ask?"

"Because..." Link's throat felt tight, his hands curled into balls over the soft blankets, letting the words explode out. "Because I hate this!" Beneath the thin fabric of his clothing, Link barely took notice of Sheik's shoulders and back tightening. "I hate having to do this - I don't know what to do, everyone's depending on me and I don't know if I can do it, I don't think I'm anything special and I want to go home but I don't have any home to go back to, a-and -" His voice cracked. "And I'm sick of being hurt and s-scared and having to see all these bad things and I'm tired. I'm really tired."

Sheik had not responded, but Navi settled on his knee, gazing up at him in concern. "Are you okay?" she asked gently, and Link shook his head, eyes closing.

"I-I wish that - that the Great Deku Tree had never asked for me," he forced out, voice hoarse and broken and exhausted. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But... I quit."


	2. With Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: The Talk, discussion of sex, Domination/submission, and masochism.

Even to Link's own ears, the silence following the words he had just said was deafening.

"You cannot," Sheik eventually said with a shake of the head. "If you choose to step away from your destiny, then people will die. You will be responsible. One way or another, Ganondorf must die at your hand and yours alone."

"Why?" Link pleaded, "Can't someone else do it?" Scrambling over to Sheik, he drew the sword, offering it to Sheik hilt-first. "You know a lot more than me, you'd be a better hero than me!"

Sheik had drawn back when Link had first presented the sword to him and now stared at the hilt dubiously. "I cannot, actually," he said softly, and raised a hand to the sword. A centimeter from the hilt, he halted, already wincing in pain. "The wielder of the Master Sword, the Hero of Time, must be pure-of-heart and possess a heroic spirit. Even if I wished to take up the sword, I have done too much to ever take the blade."

Shoulders slumping, Link sheathed the sword again. "What have you done?" he asked wearily, "Because I bet it's not _that_ bad. Can't you just tell the sword you're good?"

Sheik didn't answer, turning back to the pot to spoon the concoction into two bowls, also crafted of fine ceramic. "Why are you so determined to evade your destiny?"

Accepting the bowl, Link ate a bite, then let it fall back. "I'm tired," he repeated, and even as the words came out, he felt the exhaustion wash over him like a wave. "And I'm scared. I don't feel like a hero."

"Very few heroes do, to begin with," Sheik pointed out, his own bowl untouched for now, mask still firmly in place. "If you were to consider yourself the greatest thing that Hyrule has ever seen, it would be a startling lack of modesty for a hero."

A humourless smile crossed Link's face. "I guess it's good that I don't think that, then, huh?" Downing another spoonful, he frowned, gazing at the wall. "Why is it so hard?"

Sighing, Sheik set down his bowl and rose to his feet, dropping down lightly beside Link. "It's hard to be a hero. Whatever path you choose, you will eventually suffer for it. But if this could prevent the suffering of others, would you do so? Or would you choose to turn your back?"

With a groan, Link let his head fall back. "I don't want people to suffer," he confirmed. The Gorons, safe in their city below - had he not ventured into the Fire Temple, braved fire and molten rock and dragons, they would have been gone by then. "But people are still suffering anyway."

The Kokiri, without Saria and without the Great Deku Tree, were directionless. The Sprout that grew now in the Great Deku Tree's meadow was still only small, and the day-to-day functioning of the Kokiri depended on Saria - a leader, perhaps a mother, to the others.

The Gorons now lacked their patriarch, their big brother. How could Darunia protect them all the way from the Sacred Realm? His son and heir was a frightened child, and he knew of none others that could take up the position of leadership. Here, too, the Gorons had been left directionless.

Castle Town was gone. Those in Kakariko had found a new home, but their old one was destroyed. Link had not yet ventured into the ranch yet, but he was sure he had heard the sound of a mournful voice raised in somber song on the breeze the night before.

"I can't fix it all," he said quietly, and finally, Sheik reached out for him, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't need to fix everything. You just need to see this through."

Weakly, miserably, he smiled. "Will I ever see Saria again? Or Darunia?"

Sheik exhaled. "I don't know."

"Saria will never forget you, you know," Navi piped up softly, still settled as light as a feather on Link's knee. "And I know you'll never forget her! So long as you always remember her, you'll never really have to say goodbye, will you?"

With a faint smile, Link lifted a hand to her, Navi reaching out to hug the tip of his finger. "Thanks," he murmured, then, with a sigh, let his head drop to Sheik's shoulder. "I'm so tired of being scared all the time. I just want to know what to do to make it better." He sounded like a frightened child, though, and shook his head in mild disgust with himself. "I don't think I'm acting much like a hero."

Letting out a reassuring little sound, Sheik carefully extracted himself from beneath Link, reaching for his bowl again before settling down again. "Finish your dinner," he told Link quietly, "You will feel better on a full stomach."

As if on cue, Link's stomach rumbled. He smiled sheepishly. "Okay. Thanks, Sheik."

A murmur from the Sheikah, and the two fell silent, finishing off the contents of the bowls, Navi picking out some of the pieces of diced vegetable for herself. When chance prompted Link to glance at his companion, he found himself surprised to see Sheik sans his usual face coverings, lips half-parted in thought between bites, the line of his jaw smooth and strong. A smile tugged at Link's lips at the sight.

Beyond, the sun slowly sank below the horizon, the rock stained red and then fading to grey. Now, only the fire illuminated them, the space small and cozy and warm.

"Hey, Sheik?" Link said suddenly, setting down his now-empty bowl, finding that he was beginning to smile.

"Mm?"

"You never gave me that kiss you promised." Honestly, it had slipped his mind entirely, with the events of the Fire Temple and afterwards to focus on. Now, with Sheik here beside him, the two alone, a night ahead, and the Sheikah temptingly bare-faced, the thought had returned in full force.

There was a squeak from the vicinity of his knee.

Sheik chuckled again. "So it seems." Considering for a moment, he reached out to rest a hand against Link's cheek, one thumb brushing affectionately over his cheekbone. Against the sudden rush of blood to his face, Sheik's hand felt almost cool.

Almost before Link could brace himself for it, Sheik leaned in, pressed his lips against Link's, and drew away again, leaving Link making a wondering noise. "That feels pretty nice," he remarked, then shook his head, perplexed at himself. "Why do people who like each other kiss? Mido really wanted to kiss Saria and I wanted you to kiss me but I don't know why."

Blinking, Sheik huffed a little laugh, Navi letting out a squeal at roughly the same time. "That's for grown-ups!" she protested, then paused confusedly, bobbing up and down as she gazed at her charge. "Wait, you _are_ \- um -"

"He isn't a Kokiri, Navi," Sheik pointed out mildly. "You can't tell me he's never going to notice these changes eventually."

"Well - uh - I don't know much about it!" Navi blustered, and Link could almost imagine her hands on her hips. "You're going to have to tell him, but just - take it easy!"

"Tell me what?"

Both Navi and Sheik ignored him.

Sheik raised an eyebrow. "Do you expect me to ravish him here and now?" he asked dryly. "If this progresses anywhere, it will be because Link wants it to."

There was a grumbling sigh from the fairy. "He's still young! What if he's not ready yet?"

"Ready for what?"

"Then we will cross that bridge when we come to it," Sheik said firmly, then paused, glancing back at the thoroughly bewildered hero. "Ah - my apologies. It seems that we have a difference in opinion here."

"Can either of you tell me what's going on?" Link asked plaintively, not sure he was liking being left out of the conversation. "Why do you have to be grown up to know what kissing means? What does ravishing mean?"

Navi lifted into the air, letting out a resigned little laugh. "I'll let you two sort that out," she told them both, exasperated and amused all at once, and zoomed out of the little cave.

Stifling a chuckle, Sheik turned to face Link. "Kissing is part of attraction and desire," he said calmly, "Where a person is drawn to another. Of course, it _is_ best if it is mutual, but it's possible to be attracted to someone without anything ever coming from it."

"Then," Link said slowly, "When I want you to kiss me - that means I'm attracted to you?"

Was that a faint hint of colour on Sheik's face? "So it would seem."

Sheik had kissed him willingly. Did that mean...? "Are you attracted to me?" he ventured carefully, and Sheik tilted his head for a moment.

"I suppose I do have some desire for you. You are rather attractive. Kissing is only a very minor part of it, however..." Here, Sheik hesitated before plunging onwards. "The greater part of desire is sex. Between men and women, it can be used for procreation, but any adult can take part in it with any other adult. Your body will, ah -" He smiled, faintly embarrassed, gesturing at Link's lap. "Will begin to react. That is what I referred to when I mentioned 'ravishing'. It feels very good, so long as you are sufficiently prepared."

Link gave him a blank look. "I saw squirrels once," he said slowly, "And they were doing - something. Saria said they were making baby squirrels. Was that sex?"

Another chuckle from Sheik. "It was. Of course, with people, it can be far more interesting and varied. I would not recommend squirrels as a potential teacher for sexual education." He did sound rather grave about it, and Link hid a smile.

"So kissing is a part of sex, and that's all a part of attraction..."

"We can leave it with kissing for now," Sheik promised, and leaned forward for another before rising to his feet, starting for the bedrolls. "When you are ready, I can teach you more."

Link gazed after him. "What if I think I'm ready now?" he asked quietly, and Sheik paused as he folded one corner back.

"You should sleep," he finally said. "I cannot promise answers to everything, but I can promise you one night where you do not have to fear. In the morning, things will be clearer."

With a little sigh, Link stood as well, stripping off the gauntlets and boots, stashing sword and shield against the cave wall.

"If that's what's best," he said, subdued, and crawled beneath the blanket.

It was heavenly soft. Link let out a little sigh, and his eyes drifted shut. "Night," he murmured, and was out before he ever got an answer.

 

Someone had touched him.

Link woke up with a start, the images of the dream fading slowly away, leaving only perplexity in their wake. Why had he dreamed that? Part was easy enough to understand - nightmarish images of monsters, of the feeling of being lost, afraid, swept away with nothing left to keep him as _Link_ , until only the _Hero_ remained. He could acknowledge his fear.

The rest... that was harder to explain.

Sheik's explanations had certainly left an impression. The image of the two of them, skin against skin, heated touch and kisses that sent Link's nerves aflame, that was surely a consequence of learning about desire, the kisses they had shared, knowing the natural conclusion of their activities.

But the rest... not just what they had been doing, but who he had been doing it with...

With an uncertain noise, he shifted, realising belatedly that he was curled up against Sheik's body. And not only that - Sheik had said that his body would react, and it certainly was making a good attempt at doing so now. Jerking away from him suddenly, he attempted to turn over, curling in on himself.

It wasn't the first time this had happened. The last few months in the forest - well, his body certainly seemed to be reacting now.

"Link?" Sheik murmured, voice muffled from the blankets as he peered over his shoulder. "Is there a problem?"

"No!" Link told him frantically, drawing his legs up to try and hide evidence of his dream. "Everything's fine!" What would Sheik think? He had thought Link wasn't ready yet.

Frowning, Sheik turned fully, pushing himself into a sitting position. "You don't look fine," he pointed out, gesturing to Link's hunched over, doubled-up position. He paused thoughtfully for a moment, then added, "This doesn't have anything to do with what I felt against my back a few minutes ago, does it?"

In the darkness, illuminated only by the sleeping Navi's faint glow, Link felt blood rush into his face, feeling his cheeks and ears heat up. "Well, I - uh -"

Sheik made a small wordless sound of confirmation. "It's perfectly normal," he told Link reassuringly, "Especially given our conversation. Would you like to, ah - take care of it?"

Link mumbled something, realised that it wasn't even intelligible to him, and repeated, "It's already going away." His voice was strained. Acute embarrassment seemed to have a rather opposite physical reaction to the dream. "How - how do you take care of it?"

"You touch yourself - stroking, usually - until you reach climax," Sheik answered calmly, although Link was sure he could detect a hint of sheepishness in the usually stoic Sheikah. "Ah - it helps to have pleasant images in your mind, too. Perhaps whoever got you in this state to begin with."

Cold, gold eyes, counterpoint to bright red ones. Link swallowed roughly, trying to forget the imagined memory of bigger hands on his body. "What if it's not someone you like?"

Sheik leaned forward, peering over Link's shoulder at his face. "You had a dream about someone you dislike," he repeated, "And it made you react - well, like that?" Link nodded, shame curdling in his stomach. "Well, that can happen too, I suppose. Desire can be emotional or it can simply be physical. You can be physically attracted to someone you dislike."

Dislike? That was certainly putting it lightly. Link let out a choked little laugh that threatened to turn into a hiccuping sob, burying his face against the blankets. "Even if it's someone you have to kill?" he asked pleadingly, voice broken.

For a moment, there was a long silence. "You dreamt about having sex with Ganondorf," Sheik finally repeated, deliberate neutrality in his voice and expression. "And it was enough for you to awaken in this state."

Link nodded once more, closing his eyes before the dampness and heat there threatened to overwhelm him. "He - I - he was kissing me and touching my body, my chest a-and arms and he was holding me down, and - he bit my lip and it hurt and started to bleed and..." Sucking in a breath, he squeezed his eyes shut even more tightly, voice becoming small. "And I - I had given up and I liked it. Sheik, what's _wrong_ with me?"

Sheik didn't answer immediately, and Link cracked open one eye to peer at him. There was a thoughtful, deliberate expression on his face half-illuminated by Navi and by what little moonlight reached them.

Spotting Link watching him, he smiled quickly. "I'm just thinking. There's nothing wrong with you, but..."

But? Link wilted a little.

"But," Sheik continued hastily and let out his breath, slowly and evenly measured. "Well - tell me about it."

Carefully, voice faltering, Link began. It was hard to remember every detail, he admitted - dreams had a hazy quality about them, and he had been left with impressions and fading memories, even the emotions becoming blunted and distant.

But not absent. They certainly were not absent.

The moment he had awoken, he had been charged with the most serious of tasks. And while a part of him accepted it, knew that this was to be his destiny, to be the Hero of Time and to save Hyrule, a louder, more insistent part screamed for release.

Sheik continued questioning, and Link continued answering. Each new answer brought new questions - why was it that he felt such relief in giving up? When pain had only ever meant defeat at the hand of a monster, mixed in with fear and the risk of death, why was it that he craved it at the hand of his enemy? Knees drawn up to his chest, Link quietly admitted another soft truth - that Ganondorf hadn't been the only one he had dreamt of.

"You weren't holding me down," he nearly whispered, "And you didn't bite me, but... you were telling me what to do and I liked it and..."

"It does seem that you prefer the more... submissive role," Sheik finally said, a distant expression on his face. "For you, you derive satisfaction from letting others dominate you - is that correct?"

To be dominated... Link inhaled slowly and then out again, gazing at the rock wall.

For Sheik - or Ganondorf, although he still could barely understand why he desired someone who had stolen his life from him, someone who he knew he had to kill - to take control, give him guidance and protection, to give him direction...

He nodded, shortly and warily.

"That's wrong, isn't it?" he said with a sigh. "To want to surrender. I'm supposed to be a hero, and heroes don't surrender."

Sheik let out a faint noise. "It's a normal variation of sexuality, I think," he muttered almost to himself, fixing Link with an intense red stare. "You want to be dominated and controlled. You want to submit, and it doesn't necessarily matter whether it's with me or with the man you're meant to kill. You want to feel pain." Bemused, he laughed shortly, shaking his head. "I wonder if the Goddesses had any idea what their chosen hero would be like."

Link gazed at him, breath caught in his throat. Sheik hadn't laughed cruelly. Instead, it had been more like someone who had found a revelation hidden between his words, like things had clicked into place for him. Had he suspected what Link was like from the start? "What do I do?" he asked, quietly and plaintively.

Sheik didn't answer immediately, pushing back the blankets and picking his way over to the remains of the fire. A moment later, it burnt with renewed vigor, casting flickering shadows across Sheik's bare face as he gazed across at Link.

"I may have an plan," he started carefully. "But I don't know if you will accept it."

With a glance downwards to check that everything had returned to normal, Link silently got to his feet, collecting a blanket to go sit by Sheik near the fire. "What is it?" he asked cautiously, glancing at the play of firelight over skin.

"It was Gerudo," Sheik said suddenly instead, glancing over at the confusion on Link's face. "The dinner we ate - the meal was of Gerudo origin. So are these blankets. So is the rest of the belongings you see here. They come from Ganondorf's fortress."

Link glanced down at the blanket, for a moment not comprehending what he had meant. "You stole them?" he asked curiously, reaching up to touch the soft fabric.

Sheik, staring determinedly into the fire, shook his head. "I walked into the kitchen and requested it."

Link fell silent for a moment - then jerked away, scrambling to where he had kept the Master Sword. "You're working for him!" he accused, hand shaking as he unsheathed the sword and aimed it straight for Sheik's throat. "All this time?"

"Calm down, Link." Sheik hadn't even moved. "He only believes I am working for him. I am a Sheikah, and thus I am loyal only to the Royal Family - and that means my true loyalties are to, and always have been to, Princess Zelda."

Hesitating for a very long moment, Link finally lowered the sword. "But why?" he asked quietly.

"Impa, the Princess's guardian, wanted a spy," he explained softly, and that was enough for Link to sheath the sword again, setting it away. "I was young, and I had been away training when Ganondorf had first arrived at the castle. He had never seen me in her presence. I was to tell him that I was a Sheikah from the tribe exiled some time ago and had heard that the Royal Family had fallen. In my alleged hatred towards them, I pledged to swear fealty to Ganondorf as ruler of Hyrule and declared myself an enemy of the Royal Family."

"But you were working for them all along," Link said slowly, and Sheik nodded.

"We are in near-constant contact," Sheik continued, and Link finally settled beside him again. "Using magic that Ganondorf cannot detect. When the time came for you to awaken, I was to teach you the songs you needed and to guide you on your journey. But this, of course, left a conflict of interest with my alleged loyalty to Ganondorf."

He drew in a breath. "So I stole away to the Temple of Time when you awakened. When I returned, I told him I had detected the change in magic - he believed me. I offered to - ah, I believe I'm supposed to assassinate you at some point." Giving Link a wry smile, he added, "No hard feelings."

"None taken." Link returned the smile.

So Sheik had been a double agent - working for Princess Zelda, but pretending to work for Ganondorf. Guiding him, but pretending that he was preparing to kill him. Link could hardly keep it straight - he only hoped Sheik could do a better job.

"But there is another alternative," Sheik continued quietly, startling Link out of his reverie. "And in a way, it'll solve both our problems. I will not have to work out what to say when you don't end up dead - and you will both get to rest and you will be able to explore your more submissive tendencies."

Link sat forward a little. "What?"

Gaze fixed on the fire, silence fell as Sheik let out a slow breath. "You turn yourself into him. You tell him that you're sick of fighting and you're giving yourself up. He will, more than likely, claim you as a trophy and bed warmer. You must be intimate with him, but his trophies lead comfortable lives. You can take the time to rest, can clear the other temples when you are ready to do so, and when the time comes, you will have become close enough to kill him. What do you think?"

" _Absolutely not_!"

Link jumped violently; his consideration of Sheik's words had dulled him to all else, and he had barely noticed the slowly brightening glow from Navi's corner of the cave over the past few minutes. Now, she could hardly be missed - zooming over, she crashed hard against the side of Sheik's head, tiny motions showing that she was kicking and slapping at him furiously.

"You will _not_ do that to him! He's still practically a child - you can't do that to him! You can't make him do that kind of thing with such a disgusting, evil man - he only just learnt what all that _is_ , how can you expect him to turn himself in, it'd damage him so much, you can't really think that's a good idea, Sheik!"

Cringing at the solid stream of ranting, Link peered at her cautiously, hands still at the ready to clap over his ears if she started again. "Navi -" he started, then stopped, not entirely sure how to proceed.

Bobbing up and down in agitated loops, Navi latched on to a few strands of hair. "Tell him you won't do it, Link!" she pleaded, tugging lightly at them. Link winced. "Tell him it's a really bad idea and he should go away and let you be a real hero!"

A real hero.... a real hero who fought for his life and saw friends disappear and never return again, who was forever surrounded by fear and pain and uncertainty, who never knew whether he'd walk away from a conflict still alive.

A real hero who was so, so tired.

"What if I want to do it?" Link said, whisper quiet, and she stopped short.

"Link..." she whispered, letting go of his hair to nuzzle against his cheek. "Can't you see how dangerous this would be? What if he kills you?"

Link's eyes closed. "Then I guess there'll be no one to save Hyrule," he said dully. "Maybe the goddesses will choose a new hero."

"But he won't be you," she whispered, and Link noted with a near physical shock that her voice was thick with tears. "I know I've only been looking after you for a few weeks. But I don't care if you're really a Hylian, you're _my_ Kokiri. It's my job to look after you, okay? Y-you big doofus."

Link lifted a hand to cup around her, his own eyes becoming damp. She truly thought of him as her Kokiri? "I know," he told her shakily, "But - I never wanted this. A-and it might be better - Sheik said that we'd both be okay, and I could rest, and - I can do this, Navi."

The faintest of tickles as Navi nodded against his cheek, and he felt the little fairy's head press against his skin. "I know you can. You can do anything you want to do." She huffed a laugh, heavy with fear. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Be his eyes and ears," Sheik spoke up quietly - Link had almost forgotten he was still there. "Keep an eye out for anything unusual, anything that might indicate that Link is needed. I will teach you how to contact me. There is a fairy fountain near the fortress, if you wish to remain close."

There was a long silence from the little fairy, and then, finally, a sigh. "Okay. But I think Link needs to clear up all the loose ends before doing this, okay?" There was the faintest of stings, she had hit him lightly on the nose. "Link, just... be careful. Okay? Promise me!"

"I promise," he said solemnly, and then yawned. It was still dark outside, and between the dream and the revelation and Sheik's plan, he was exhausted. "We'll work it all out in the morning, okay?" Smiling shakily, he got to his feet, one hand still supporting Navi, offering the other to Sheik.

Was this the right thing to do? Was it really okay to find this new and rather unconventional path? As Link returned to his bedroll, weary and wary, he couldn't help but wonder if he was making a mistake...


	3. Coming Out Of The Shell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Sexual content - verbally consensual, although Link's ability to give completely informed consent is more questionable. And although I forgot to mention it earlier, Link, in this, is eighteen already and has more of an adult mentality. With conflicting evidence on both his physical and mental age in canon, I'm erring on the side of caution and saying that he's both legally an adult and mentally maturing rapidly, even if he is naive and inexperienced for his age.

The next morning arrived with a grim sense of determination for Link. It was still early, the sun barely risen in the east and the westerly slope of the mountain still mostly in the dark, and Link found himself settled beside the fire as he gazed out at Hyrule beneath his feet.

He was giving in. And yes, a part of him - a substantial part, a part who probably was the true hero - felt guilt over that. But the thought of those temples, of the loss and fear they represented, of never feeling safe - if he could still save Hyrule this way, wouldn't he be a fool not to accept it?

The dream he had had earlier in the night haunted him. He had surrendered in it, he knew that much - perhaps, like his dreams of Ganondorf before any of this had begun, they would become truth. Perhaps he would find peace in his enemy's bed.

And perhaps, even with his surrender, Hyrule could still be freed.

It was only when Sheik peered around the rock that Link realised he hadn't been in bed. Instead, the Sheikah hurried to stoke the fire to its full strength, warming his hands against it. "I have been in Zora's Domain," he told Link grimly, exhaling. "It seems it has frozen over - I was barely able to pull the Zora princess from beneath the ice."

Ruto? "Is she okay?" Link asked with a frown, and Sheik gave a non-committal shrug.

"She is unharmed," he answered, "But she was shaken - her father has been frozen in some sort of magic ice. She said that there are things that you will need to clear the Water Temple in the caverns adjoining Zora Fountain, and a way to thaw out her father, who also has an item you will need. She will wait for you at the Water Temple."

So he would have to venture into another temple. Link let out a sigh. "I can't let the Zoras stay frozen," he said quietly, and Sheik nodded.

"The source of the ice appears to be a curse from some sort of monster deep in the Water Temple. Unless it is defeated, the ice will never melt. This will be your last task to undertake before we go to the fortress."

Link nodded once. "Will you come with me?" he asked cautiously, not expecting an affirmative answer.

Sheik tilted his head. "To the Domain and caverns? I believe I will," he said firmly.

A smile spread across Link's face. Then this task, at least, wouldn't be so bad. "But not the temple?"

"I do not believe I will be able to." Shaking his head, Sheik got to his feet again, rubbing both hands together as he made for their belongings. Withdrawing soft bread and fresh fruit, he returned, offering part of the bounty to Link. "The equipment we will get at the Domain will assist you in breathing underwater, but there is only enough for one."

Exhaling, Link tore off a piece of the bread and bit into it. "Well - will you wait for me?" he asked, then swallowed the bite and asked again. "Then - I guess we can go. If it's really tough, I guess he'll believe that I gave up after it..."

Sheik chuckled faintly, stopping himself quickly. "It may be an understandable action, yes."

Falling silent, Link sat back against the rock and ate his breakfast, gazing out as light spread across the land. The cavern - well, that wouldn't be so bad, with Sheik accompanying him. The temple that followed... he had no doubt that it would be a challenge, and he would be doing it alone. What would he find there - perhaps Zoras, frozen in ice? A phantom, like the keeper of the Forest Temple? More friends to say goodbye to? He had a vague idea that the Sage of Water would be Ruto - it certainly seemed to fit the pattern of ripping leaders and heirs away from their people.

But after that...

Link exhaled, the hand still holding on to his bread dropping to his lap. "After I finish the temple, I should hide some of my things," he said softly, "In case I need them again. I think I have to give him my sword, though - he'll know something's not right if I don't have it."

"While you're in the temple," Sheik decided, "I will prepare a weapons stash. You will give me your current bow, as it has magical properties, and I will find a generic one for you to surrender. I can find another shield and a bomb bag for you, and you will hand over your existing ones. I will leave them in your old home in the forest."

Link shook his head hastily. "Not there. There's a grotto near Goron City. Leave them there."

Sheik peered at him curiously, then nodded. "If you wish. You may have to surrender the ocarina, however." A frown crossed his face. "Argue that it is useless to him now. Ask to keep it for sentimental reasons. He may grant you that one request."

"So much to think about."

"Are you reconsidering?"

"No." Link shook his head once, then smiled weakly. "But I've never surrendered to an evil person before..."

"You get used to it," Sheik told him gravely, then popped the last piece of fruit into his mouth to turn his attention to packing his belongings. "Finish your breakfast. You have a very long day ahead."

Link nodded, polishing off his bread and starting for his things, nudging Navi awake and offering her a piece of apple. A cavern, a temple, and then surrender... it would be a long day indeed.

 

The Ice Caverns, Link had discovered to his dismay, definitely lived up to their name.

By the time he and Sheik had made it out of the frigid Domain, a blue tunic and a very heavy pair of boots in his arms, he was ready to never see ice again. It wasn't until they were halfway down the river, the chill fading to a comfortable cool, that Sheik finally stopped them, drawing out the lyre.

"Time passes," he started softly, "People move - like a river's flow, it never ends. A childish mind turns to noble ambitions, young love will become deep affection." Briefly, his eyes flickered to Link, and Link turned his head away, suddenly discomforted by the 'noble ambitions'. "The clear water's surface reflects growth," he continued quietly, "Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself."

He listened. And he reflected. He had grown over the past days, he knew that - despite childhood just being days past, he couldn't imagine being a child again, not any more.

The things he wanted, the things he felt - although he felt lost and alone, he wasn't a child any more. He had grown.

And perhaps even his mind would turn to noble ambitions, too.

Link didn't speak as he raised the ocarina to his lips, repeating the notes that rippled through the air. His eyes were closed, his thoughts a swirl of mess and emotion, not realising as the notes wavered. Was he giving in too easily? How could he even tell if he was? It seemed like the best idea to him, but was he allowing himself to be too easily influenced?

Well, he had an entire temple to think it over. One small consolation, if that.

"Those things I asked you about, earlier in the cavern," he started suddenly as he lowered the ocarina, ducking his head a little, "Um, I'm sorry if they -"

Sheik shook his head quickly, waving a hand hastily. "If you're to do this, you'll need to know about the mechanics eventually." Was it Link's imagination, or was he just a little pink? "Ah - think it over in the temple. If you have any further questions, I can answer them when you finish."

"No, that's - okay." Link scratched at his hairline awkwardly. "Um - I hope it doesn't hurt too much."

For a moment, Sheik wavered, hand held up as if he was about to say something before thinking better of it. "You would best get to the temple. Would you like me to take your old tunic for you?"

Giving Sheik a rather strained sound, Link nodded, setting down the sword and shield and unbuckling the belt to switch the tunics and hats. "I don't really want to lose my hat," he muttered, "It's kind of... well, it's mine."

"I will take good care of it," Sheik told him gravely, then tucked the lyre away and held out a hand for the tunic and hat. "I wish you luck. I will be waiting for you when you finish."

Zora tunic on, iron boots on his feet, sword and shield back in their place on his back, Link exhaled and gave Sheik an uncertain smile. "See you soon, then," he murmured, raised the ocarina again, and let the music take him away.

 

If the freezing cold of the Ice Caverns had ensured that Link never wanted to see ice again, the Water Temple had certainly killed any desire to live anywhere near the water.

But Sheik had waited for him, and now he stood watching the lake fill with clean water. Link exhaled and moved to his side, gazing out at it. "Ruto says thank you," he said softly, and Sheik dipped his head in acknowledgment.

"All is as it was here," he murmured, turning to Link. "And how did you go?"

Link hesitated once, then shrugged. Cold water, strong currents, a shell blade biting into his leg, a shadow who copied his every move... "I survived."

Turning away, he found blankets at the base of the tree, setting one up without further word. Stripping off the sodden tunic but unsure what to do with the undershirt and leggings, he turned to find Sheik holding out his Goron one, warm and dry and clean. "Thanks," he said with a brief smile, and continued changing, settling down on the blankets bare-legged. "Can we sleep a bit and go in the morning? I'm really tired."

"Of course," Sheik nodded, unwrapping the bandages around his head and arms and chest. "It would be advantageous to be at your best when you present your case to him, anyway."

Link nodded, but it was a distracted nod. "This time tomorrow, I probably would have - done it, right? Had sex?" he asked slowly, and Sheik gave him a perplexed glance before nodding. "With - Ganondorf."

"It's not too late to change your mind." Sheik's gaze was penetrating, fixed on Link's face. "You do not have to do this unless you want to. You can still do this the old-fashioned way."

"I want to," Link said slowly, although he wasn't completely sold on whether or not he really did - the idea was alluring, but it also seemed... cowardly. Was this really the right decision? "But I don't - want my first time to be with him."

Almost stealthily, he stole a glance at Sheik's face. The idea had occurred to him halfway through the temple - it had been a potent and distracting thought.

"With me?" Sheik asked, and Link nodded once.

Sheik exhaled, reaching out to set one hand over Link's. "It's very soon," he told him, and Link felt his heart sink in his chest. "But we don't really have the luxury of time, I suppose. And I do..." Slowly, his gaze fell, tracing the lines of Link's chest and stomach, the contours of the muscles of his bare legs. "I do find you very attractive," he continued, and his voice was thick.

Link gave him a cautious smile in return - the long, slow, leisurely stare had served to make him almost hyper-consciously aware of his own body, the unbidden thought of what it would feel like to have Sheik's hands on it rising in his mind. "I kept thinking about it in the temple," he admitted, "When - well, when I wasn't fighting. What you said in the Ice Caverns - I know it was so I knew what I could do with Ganondorf, but I kept thinking about doing that with... you, instead."

Three Goddesses, he was starting to go red, feeling his cheeks and ears heat up. From somewhere above him, there was another squeak, and a blue spark darted off into the distance, a call of, "I'll leave you two alone!" ringing out.

"Tell me," Sheik murmured as he gave the departing Navi a glance, settling beside Link on the blanket. The hand covering Link's own moved almost absently, settling on the Hylian's knee.

Link gave him a startled glance, then nodded. "I pictured you... kissing me," he started, voice low and cautious. Sheik made a little murmuring sound, then leaned in, the barest brush of lips against Link's cheek. "On the mouth," he hastily added. Sheik's lips moved accordingly.

They parted again. Link exhaled. "You were - touching me," he continued, eyes fixed on Sheik, not sure whether he would continue along the same path. "Your fingers - you were sort of... um, stroking, I guess." With a sheepish little smile, he scratched at the back of his head. "Over my arms and my chest and - and my sides and stomach."

"And then what?" Sheik breathed, reaching up to trail a leisurely hand down Link's arm, switching tracks half way to trace little circles along his sides. Trailing languidly downwards over his abdominal muscles, Link's breath hitched at the touch.

"What you - what you said last night, about - taking care of it," he continued, voice strained now, "You - did that, and..."

Was he going to? Sheik's proximity, his hand resting on Link's stomach, breath warm against his neck, was definitely contributing to creating the same little problem he had had the night before. And he was. Link's eyes fluttered shut as Sheik's hand slid downwards, jumping a little at the touch, even through fabric.

"This may serve well as an introduction," Sheik murmured in his ear as he stroked down, and Link bit down on his lip. The touch was good - but still, it was muted, not skin on skin like his imagination had dictated in the temple.

"I wasn't wearing a tunic," he whispered, and his voice cracked.

This time, Sheik chuckled outright, then reached out to tug the tunic off altogether, leaving Link bare and exposed on the blanket, the night air chill against his heated skin. "Is that better?"

Link considered for a moment, then let a faint smile cross his face. "You weren't wearing much either," he pointed out, gaze fixed on Sheik, ignoring the need of his own body for now. Briefly, the Sheikah smiled, and then he began to disrobe as well - the last of the bandages, two thin metal plates that slid beneath his sleeves and covered the backs of his hands, boots that joined seamlessly with his pants. The tabard, bearing the mark of the Eye of Truth, disappeared, and Link's gaze drifted back up to Sheik's face - and then down again as the form-fitting shirt slid off.

His imagination was going to have a field day. Compact, well-defined muscles produced intriguing dips of shadows and highlights, smooth, dark skin broken here and there by lighter scars. Carefully, Link reached out to trace one, a few inches long, across Sheik's chest, Sheik's gaze never leaving him.

"You look really nice," he whispered, and Sheik chuckled.

"As do you." Still clad in his pants, Sheik settled back against Link again, hand resting lightly on his hip. "Are you ready to continue?" he murmured, and Link nodded, almost feverish in his eagerness to continue.

This time, he knew, would be the skin against skin he had imagined earlier. Already, he could feel it - Sheik's chest against his back, their arms bumping against one another. But as Sheik's hand slid down again, Link let his head fall back with a groan - this was definitely better than his imagination had provided.

"Good," the Sheikah whispered, the faint tickle of hair as he moved his head suddenly replaced with the sensation of being kissed. "You're doing very well. What happened next?"

Link made an unintelligible noise. Little fireworks were going off beneath his skin. Words were definitely becoming a problem.

"We tried the - ah - we tried some of the things you - you told me about," he managed to force out, squirming, trying to buck his hips upwards. "Like - you used your fingers in - in me, and then..."

Sheik chuckled a little, removing his hand (much to Link's disappointment). "The main event already," he mused, and then his expression became solemn. "This may hurt you. If you want, there is still time to reconsider - but if you do intend to go through with this plan, I strongly recommend that we do this as preparation."

Sucking in a breath, Link pushed himself back up, glancing away from Sheik. "I'm doing this because I'm a coward," he finally said softly, trepidation in his expression. "Because I don't want to fight. But whatever I do, it's going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Would it be any consolation if I told you that pain was a fact of life?" Sheik sounded resigned, at least, setting a hand on Link's shoulder. "This is where you must make a choice - the path of the hero, and the last two temples required - or surrendering yourself to Ganondorf's whims and having a chance to rest before the resumption of your duties. But there is," he continued, "A third choice - you can walk away, or wait and see what must be done next, and leave Hyrule to its fate."

Link shook his head. "I'll do it," he told Sheik firmly. "But I can't -"

The idea of pushing through another temple, and then another - who knew what else he would face? What other trials would be thrown at him? What if he wasn't good enough, what if he wasn't strong enough, what if he wasn't the hero that Hyrule needed him to be?

What if he could do this so much more simply? _Surrender_ \- the thought of being able to give up and let someone else guide him on his path was an incredibly tempting one.

Even if it was Ganondorf.

"I'll still do it," he repeated softly, and reached for Sheik's hand. "What should I do?"

Sheik exhaled slowly. "Lie back," he murmured, and turned to hunt through his belongings, returning a moment later with a small vial of sword oil. "And relax. It hurts less if you are relaxed."

Link swallowed, then did as Sheik said, one leg slightly propped up. "What's the oil for?"

"Lubrication." Sheik's expression was calm, but his voice betrayed a hint of wariness about the situation. "It will hurt more if we do not use it."

Exhale. Link nodded once, then propped himself up on his elbows. "Okay. Um - I'm ready." Sheik's voice wasn't the only one betraying his true feelings, he noted with a slight pang.

For a moment, Sheik gazed down at him. Then he leaned in, pressing his lips to Link's, seeking entrance even as his hands busied themselves. "I will not intentionally hurt you without your blessings. You have my word," he whispered as he drew back for just a moment, reaching for one of Link's hands even as the other slid down the inside of his thigh. "Relax."

Inhale. Exhale. With Sheik's lips against his own, it was all he could do to focus on getting enough air, breathing in and breathing out.

And it did hurt. Not at first, not with just the first of Sheik's fingers, a slight presence where he wasn't used to feeling one. The second, though, and then the third - even with his fingers slick with oil, it stung, a deep-seated ache that throbbed dully up his spine. Link breathed in and breathed out, eyes half-closed as he tried to force himself to become accustomed to the intrusion.

Inhale, exhale. Link's breath shuddered out of him as Sheik slid his fingers free, wiping them on the grass. His body felt strange, stretched beyond what it was used to, and yet he did not find he hated it.

"Ready?" Sheik whispered, and Link murmured an affirmative, pushing himself up to watch as the Sheikah positioned himself. Not once did he look away, his only action to bite down on his lip as Sheik slid home, letting out his breath in a ragged exhalation at the sudden heat and pressure and, yes, the faint hints of pain.

Or was it pleasure? The line between the two was rapidly becoming blurred as Sheik began to move, his hands first set on Link's hips and then drifting up to hold his hands in place. There was something almost primal about the act, something beyond pretenses of civility and dignity, a near animalistic act that was simply pain and pleasure and the motion of their bodies and nothing beyond that.

Pain and pleasure. Pleasure and pain. Link's eyes closed as he bucked up to meet each thrust of Sheik's hips, the blanket balled in his hands. Where did it stop hurting and start feeling good? Did it even matter, when the feeling good was so inexorably mixed up with pain, was so much of his world at this point in time, in this place, with Sheik?

There was nowhere else he would rather be at that moment.

When Link finally stirred from his peak, lying boneless against the blanket, he found Sheik at his side, gazing at him almost curiously. "How do you feel?" he asked softly, and Link blinked at him muzzily.

"Um - good, I think," he started slowly. How did he feel? Aching, but... good, like he had been refreshed. "I liked it."

Sheik nodded. "I was concerned I hurt you." Reaching for a spare bit of cloth, he cleaned himself off before handing another to Link. "It isn't uncommon for the first time to hurt."

"You did," Link started, abruptly stopping himself when he noticed Sheik blanch. "It's okay!" he added hastily, "It was in the good way. It was nice pain."

"Nice pain," Sheik repeated dubiously, then shook his head. "I believe you will do fine."

Had he said something wrong? Link bit down absently on his now-bloodied lip (he hadn't been the only one biting at it) as he padded barefoot to the lake edge, washing himself up before returning to their camp. Now that his skin wasn't quite so heated, the night was chilly, and the Goron tunic welcoming as he slipped it on.

Sheik was waiting for him when he returned, partially clothed again in the form-fitting pants and shirt, the bedrolls ready. An uncomfortable silence reigned for a moment. "We will leave in the morning," he finally said, his belongings set nearly to one side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Link murmured, and suddenly yawned hugely - the exhaustion of what they had done, combined with both the temple and the caverns earlier, had suddenly caught up with him. "See you in the morning."

One last night under the stars, and in the morning, things would begin anew.


	4. Conch Shell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Probably a fair degree of emotional manipulation...

By the time Sheik stirred, the first rays of sunlight peering over the lake, Link was already well and truly wide awake.

It had been a restless sleep. While no further dreams like the one the night before had plagued him, he had instead been left with nightmares, grisly images of monsters and blood and fighting for his life and the life of the others he was bound by duty to protect.

How would he sleep in Ganondorf's fortress? Link's back was turned to the sunrise, gazing into the distance. From here, the cliffs that rose around the lake blocked the fortress from view - but there was no mistaking where it was.

At some point in the night, Navi had returned and was now settled quietly on his shoulder. She hadn't spoken, save for a brief, half yawned, "Morning," when he had given up on sleep, and he was grateful for it.

Now, though, Sheik was beginning to rise. At some point when Link had been in the temple, it seemed, he had acquired food - Link had been too tired (and then rather too distracted) the night before, but now breakfast seemed like a terribly appealing prospect. He gave Link a quick smile, then bent over a pack, withdrawing a loaf of bread, a bottle of fruit preserves, bright red and fragrant with the sweet scent of berries, and some cucco eggs, already boiled in their shells.

"I don't suspect you had much chance to eat in the temple," he mused, voice scratchy from sleep. Link had already reached for the bread, and could only nod in reply.

Was the bread particularly good, or was he just so hungry he was only noticing now? It was rather hard to tell.

"Is the food at the fortress like this?" he asked once he swallowed his mouthful, finally taking the time to spread the preserves before taking another bite.

Sheik nodded, carefully peeling one of the eggs. "To an extent. This is more suitable for travel - much of what you will be eating will be Gerudo cuisine. How are you with spices?"

Link gave him a dubious look. "I don't think I've ever tried any."

Letting out a sigh, the Sheikah took a bite. "Well, I expect you will get used to them."

A cautious silence fell. Navi had collected half a blueberry from inside the preserves and was munching determinedly away, and Link was eating with the single-mindedness of someone who hadn't eaten in half a day. Only Sheik seemed to be off his food, casting glances in the direction of the fortress.

"When you have eaten," he said suddenly, "Dress again in your Zora tunic. The others we will hide along with your bow - I have already found a more generic one with a quiver for you - and your hookshot."

Link shook his head. "I found a longer one in the temple. Hide the longshot, and I'll take the hookshot, okay? And -" What would Saria think of this, this surrender? "I have another ocarina... Saria gave it to me. Hide that one, too."

All too easily, he could picture the little clay instrument crushed beneath Ganondorf's hand. He shuddered.

Sheik peered at him carefully. "Are you alright?"

Again, Link nodded, frowning. "I'm just... a bit worried, I guess," he admitted quietly. "I do want to give up. But what if he sees through it?"

"It's a risk you will have to take, if you are committed to this path."

Navi stirred a little, glancing between them. "If Link gets in trouble or changes his mind," she started, "Can we help him escape? We've gotta be able to leave to get to the temples, right?"

Busying himself with starting to roll up the blankets, Sheik gave an uneasy shrug. "Getting Link out could be easy. If he chooses to conceal the Master Sword, however, we will be in a difficult situation. It would be best to remain undetected and firm in his convictions. The temples do not require the Master Sword. We will only need that when the time comes to end it all."

Link nodded once, gently nudging Navi into the air before turning to dress himself. "I'm not going to give up," he said firmly, "Promise."

Silence fell across the island as they readied themselves. By the time everything had been returned to the way it should have been, the sun was higher in the sky. Link, at Navi's prompting once she had uncovered a stone engraved with words, had shot an arrow in the direction of the sun and had been rewarded with new magic. The guays that tended to patrol the lake had circled higher, fish occasionally breaking the surface of the water with a plop.

There was nothing left to do, then, but say goodbye.

Sheik could leave Ganondorf's fortress freely, and was in regular attendance at the Temple of Time, where a row of Gossip Stones (Sheikah Stones, Sheik had corrected him absently) allowed communication across the expanses. Using the one closest to the lakeside laboratory, Sheik had instructed Navi on how to stay in contact with one of the fairies who tended to live in and around the mysterious blocks - it would be a way to keep track of their progress, he explained, and for Navi to pass information on to them.

And then he turned away politely, feigning the need to go over their things one more time, leaving Link and Navi on their own.

Now, at the end of it all, Link found he couldn't bring himself to say it. Navi had been a constant at his side for only a few weeks, but what a constant she had been - always at his side, always watching out for him.

He was going to miss her.

"Navi -" he started, voice thick, and shook his head.

With a little sigh, the fairy flew in closer, bumping gently against his cheek, her head against his. "Be careful," she told him, her voice wavering, halfway on the verge of tears. "I still thing this is a really, really, really bad idea, okay? But..." Gently, she aimed a barely-there punch at his cheekbone. "But I want you to be happy. So be safe. I promise I'll be always thinking of you!"

He gave her the ghost of a smile, nodding minutely so as not to dislodge her. "Thanks," he said in return. "It wasn't all really bad - I'm glad you were there with me. And I'll see you at the Shadow Temple and Spirit Temple, right?"

Those, at least, weren't quite so critical. While the Gorons and Zoras had needed help as soon as possible - well, he didn't know of anyone in Kakariko Village or the desert, where Sheik had told him the others were located, who needed the same.

"Right!" Navi, he noted, was doing her very best to remain cheerful, although she was in no way moving far from him, a distinct quaver in her voice. "You'll - you'll be really good once you get some rest! And when he's dead, we can have a party and everything! ...Right?"

"Right," he echoed once more, and reached up to cup her gently in one hand. Moving away from his face, she hugged his fingers fiercely, and he pretended not to notice the tiny droplets of moisture he could feel. "Navi - thanks for everything."

"You too," she whispered, barely audible to his ear, and tore off at a rate of knots.

How would he do without her? The last time he had been alone, he had been a near-friendless Hylian living amongst Kokiri. With her gone, and Saria gone...

The little blue speck was no longer in sight. Sucking in a breath, he turned to Sheik. "I'm ready," he said softly and reached for his hand.

"Then," Sheik told him, voice firm and shoulders straight, giving his hand a squeeze before reaching for his lyre, "It's time. Let's go."

 

At the Temple of Time, everything had started. Now, he and Sheik stood upon the platform marked with the crest of the Light Medallion and prepared to begin anew.

"This is your very last chance," Sheik said solemnly as he tucked the lyre away again. "Once we walk up the path to the fortress, there can be absolutely no turning back."

"I'm not turning back." Link let out his breath slowly, starting when Sheik took his hand, squeezing it gently between his own. His skin tingled. Glancing up at him, he hesitantly reaching up to rest his fingers lightly on the cowl. "Can I have another kiss? For good luck?"

Sheik chuckled aloud, tugging down the cloth and pressing a light kiss on Link's lips. "You will have to do some acting," he said as he drew back. "I will have to insult both you and the princess. Act resigned. Afraid of his reaction. Be - not timid, but wary. Remember the role you are playing - you have chosen to give yourself over to Ganondorf completely. Submit to his whims. You have no hidden agenda, and you will serve him to the fullest extend of your ability. Be humbled. You were misled by the princess and have now come to see that he is correct. You may harbour conflicted feelings over the death of the Great Deku Tree, but understand that no matter what, Ganondorf is your master now. The Great Deku Tree may have raised you, but he also lied to you, and those lies led you to being an outcast. Ganondorf will be your master now. Whatever you do, do not reach for a weapon, especially your sword, or you will quite possibly be killed on sight."

Eyes half-closed, Link committed the monologue and instructions to memory. The worst part of it, he reflected, was that a great deal of it was true - he truly was afraid of his reaction, resigned and exhausted and giving up.

And the Great Deku Tree...

He _had_ lied to him, and perhaps Saria, too. Hadn't they?

Nodding once, Link took a deep, steadying breath and let it out again, his shoulders falling. It would not be hard to act, not at all. "Okay," he whispered and turned to follow Sheik out of the temple.

Outside, it was not hard to notice the shape of the fortress, a shadowy smear in the gloomy skies. Link stuck close to Sheik as he took a shortcut Link wasn't familiar with - a chain of still-sturdy vines leading to the cliffs that had surrounded the castle when it still stood. Sheik scaled them easily, then turned back down to Link.

"Once you reach the top," he said calmly, "You will be on the fortress grounds."

If he was to turn back, now was the time to do it.

Link drew in a breath and began to climb.

The sight that met him was not the castle, white and blue amongst green grounds, that he had seen in his childhood. This was indeed a fortress - blasted bare rock, and an immense structure somehow floating above a pit of lava. Link stared at it in trepidation.

"How do we get in?" he asked, glancing across at Sheik and then stopping short. The Sheikah's expression had changed - gone was the semblance of sympathy. Now, his face may as well have been carved from stone itself, his eyes cold.

"You'll see," he said, and even his voice was clipped. Link followed silently, perplexed at the change. Was this the mask he wore before Ganondorf?

At the edge of the pit, they stopped. Sheik's eyes glazed for just one moment - beneath their feet, shadows were stirring, forming a chain of black across the chasm. When he tapped one boot on them, however, it rang out like it was made of metal. "Come on."

Link's first step on the shadow bridge was a nervous one.

By the time they reached the threshold, it was already fading at the other end. Link stepped back on to rock, reeling slightly at the heat and fumes from the lava below, and watched as the bridge disappeared into wisps of smoke.

There was definitely no turning back now.

Link swallowed hard, then followed Sheik into the fortress. It wasn't hard to keep up the charade - this was a horrible place, and everywhere, he felt eyes watching him - rattling Stalfos, huge metal suits of armour wielding axes bigger than he was, areas guarded by Armos and blade traps. Here and there, he caught sight of people - grim-looking men in battle-scarred armour and uniforms, tall women with red hair and skimpy clothes. The Gerudo, he assumed, noting the features they shared with Ganondorf.

But the carpet beneath his feet was sinfully soft. The paintings on the walls were, by and large, not the horrible images of blood and gore that he had come to expect, but portraits of stern-looking Gerudo men and women, and - here and there - landscapes of green grass and blue skies. Link gazed at one for a moment, then hurried to catch up with Sheik.

And then came the stairs - an endless flight of stairs that climbed higher and higher, the sound of organ music growing ever louder.

Link had fallen silent, now, his wariness not entirely faked. What if Ganondorf saw through him? He could attack without provocation, and without the other two sages awakened, he wouldn't stand a chance. What if he brought Sheik down with him?

He longed to ask the Sheikah for guidance, reassurances, anything. But they were drawing closer now, and the presence of others watching, unwelcome, was growing, and he did not dare open his mouth.

_Be calm,_ he told himself, forcing himself to take slow, measured breaths. What could he do, surrounded by enemies? There was no escape now, no time for indecision. He had made his choice. He would see it through.

Sheik glanced back at him once as they reached the landing, large, ornately-carved doors before them. Link gazed up at them for a moment, then nodded in acknowledgment - he was ready.

The doors, slowly, were pushed open. And Link found himself stepping into the throne room.

Here, it wasn't hard to pretend. A pervasive, crushing fear made his breath quicken, palms clammy beneath the gauntlets. Here, Ganondorf ruled all, not yet even turning from his organ, cloak obscuring most of his body.

The music stopped, and Ganondorf rose to his feet, his back still to the pair. "Why have you brought me this kid, Sheik?" he rumbled, and Link curled his hands into fists.

"He is surrendering," Sheik said in answer, tone still calm and measured as always, but several orders of magnitude colder. "The Master Sword chose poorly - he is not suited to heroics."

Slowly, Ganondorf turned, as leisurely as if he was scanning a shelf for something good to read. Link's mouth went dry - there was no warmth in those gold eyes, but a truly amused smile was twitching on his lips. The armour moulded to his muscles, hiding none of his strength - Link's gaze flickered down then up again, tongue thick in his mouth.

"Is this true, kid?" he drawled, and Link nodded, bowing his head. "Speak up. You have a tongue, do you not?"

Link licked his lips nervously and nodded. "It's true," he said, and he did not have to fake the tremor in his voice. "I - I never asked for this. I didn't know what would happen if I did what Zelda said. And I h-hate this!"

This, he did not have to fake. It felt good to get this out, even if it was in a situation that he should have never been in.

"I never wanted to have to leave the forest and I never wanted to have to fight monsters a-and save people and be forced to be a hero, I just wanted people to like me -" His voice cracked. If he had been liked in the forest, would he have ever had to leave?

But he still would have grown up, wouldn't he?

"The Great Deku Tree lied to me a-and I never got to live in Hyrule properly and it's not my home, a-and -" Almost to his own horror, his eyes were growing damp. "And I can't go back to the forest. I have nowhere to go."

Hyrule wasn't his home, was it? He couldn't go back to the forest, could he?

"And so you turned yourself over to me," Ganondorf mused, chuckling. "Saw the error of your ways, huh?"

Link's breath shuddered out of him. "Princess Zelda ruined my life," he said softly, quietly hating the words coming out of his mouth but knowing that the lie was necessary. "And she hates you. But she made a really big mistake counting on me, 'cause I'm really not a hero, and - and if she hates you, then -"

_I'm sorry, Princess._

But Ganondorf looked contemplative. "She was a meddler," he said with a sudden snort, "An impudent child sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Tell me, kid, do you know where she is?"

Link started, then shook his head. "I haven't seen her for seven years."

That, at least, was the truth, and his words were convincing enough for Ganondorf to hum thoughtfully, nodding once. "She and that dog of hers are well-hidden. Sheik has been searching for them, haven't you, boy?"

Sheik bowed his head once. "She continues to evade my detection, I'm afraid. Impa has an advantage over me when it comes to duplicity."

Finding no answer to that, Link glanced back at the floor, starting when Ganondorf addressed him again. "So, kid, you hate the princess, huh?"

"I don't -" he started awkwardly, "I don't _hate_ her, but - I don't like her. The Great Deku Tree sent me to her especially, and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had to leave the forest or go fight monsters or get the sword or grow up..."

He wouldn't have had to, would he? Link knew he didn't hate Zelda. But all the unpleasantness he had faced... it was at least partially because of her, wasn't it?

He wondered what he'd say if he ever saw her again.

Ganondorf chuckled again, then strode over, staring down at Link. Link shrank back, almost involuntarily - the Gerudo was far taller than he was, and he felt diminished in his presence. Roughly, he swallowed.

"Afraid?" he asked casually.

"A bit," Link admitted.

"Good." Ganondorf gave him another long stare, then stepped back a few paces. "Place all your weapons on the carpet. Sheik, take them to the vault. I will deal with the sword myself."

Link nodded again and reached up slowly to unbuckle the sword belt, placing it down as delicately as he could, fingers brushing the gem almost in farewell. Then came the shield and the hookshot, the replacement bow and its quiver, the bomb bag, and pouch full of Deku nuts.

Back in the grotto on the mountain, he knew the Fairy Bow, longshot, hammer, and Saria's ocarina rested. The weapons of his childhood were safe in the tree house in the forest. The rest? These were expendable.

Ganondorf strode over, picking up the bomb bag with idle curiosity. "Made from the stomach of a Dodongo," he identified, "Crude, but effective." Next, he reached for the bow, frowning as he unstrung it. "A cheap but sturdy build. I presume this was the weapon that you used to defeat my phantom."

Link held his breath. Would he realise that the bow wasn't quite the same one?

No, it seemed, for he had moved on to the hookshot. "A toy, but an interesting one," he speculated, "Created by Hylians living amongst the Sheikah in order to compensate for their lack of mobility."

Link's ears pricked up at that in curiosity, glancing across at Sheik for confirmation. Sheik nodded once, and Link filed it away as an interesting tidbit.

But why was he doing this? The shield, he described as generic to the extreme, but certainly thoroughly worn. The Deku nuts got a chuckle, and the bag was tossed to Sheik - he could make use of them.

"Now," he started, "There's just one treasure left - where's the Ocarina of Time, kid?"

The breath caught in Link's throat. "I was wondering," he said softly, gaze trained on the floor, "If I could keep it... I like playing music, and - and the Door of Time is already open. It doesn't do anything now..."

"A trinket." Ganondorf chuckled, holding a hand out for it, and, silently, Link handed it over. The Gerudo inspected it - and then set it back in Link's hand, utterly unscathed. "Sure, kid. You can have your toys."

Link exhaled in relief, his shaking hands nearly dropping the ocarina as he tucked it away again. And then he simply waited, head down, as he waited for judgment to be cast.

Ganondorf peered at him closely for a moment, then shook his head. "A word, Sheik," he requested, stepping away and gesturing for Sheik to follow him to the other side of the room. Link watched as they went, feeling his stomach twist at how immediately Sheik obeyed him, unwilling to move with Ganondorf's eye still half on him.

What were they talking about? Whatever it was, Ganondorf seemed curious, and then amused. Once, he laughed loud enough for Link to hear. Sheik's expression had remained calm throughout the conversation, only glancing over a few times. To contrast, Ganondorf's gaze seemed to flicker over to him more often than not.

Already, Link was starting to feel unwell. Had he made a huge mistake? Was Ganondorf going to keep him, cast him out, imprison him, kill him? Truly, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to be here.

But the alternative... he felt his chest tighten at the thought. He needed rest, so urgently, so desperately. And for him, even rest in the bed of his enemy would be a welcome gift.

Finally, they finished their little conversation, and Ganondorf strode back over to him. "Strip," he ordered, and Link glanced up disbelievingly. "If what Sheik tells me is true, then it won't be anything new to him."

He had told him? Link glanced up at Sheik, wide-eyed. Sheik did not return the glance.

But maybe he had had to. Slowly, hands not quite steady, he unbuckled the gauntlets and belt, slid off the boots. The Zora tunic and hat came next, pooling in a blue puddle at his feet. Link hesitated once, then drew in a breath for reassurance and dragged the undershirt and leggings off.

Ganondorf's gaze slid over his body languidly, and Link felt the sudden urge to cover himself up. Instead, he simply looked away, gaze fixed somewhere on the wall, fighting the urge to shiver at the blatant once-over he was getting. Sheik, at least, was watching his face with the barest hint of concern, yet even he glanced away when Link turned to him.

"Good," Ganondorf told him and smiled. "Kneel."

Link did, grateful for the chance to stare at the floor instead.

There was a faint crackling sound and a wash of heat over his bare skin, and he glanced up to see purple and yellow magic popping and sparking in Ganondorf's hands. "Raise your head," the Gerudo ordered shortly.

There were two half-circles, made of magically-formed metal, in his hands. And Link did not look away, did not run, did not refuse the fate he had chosen as Ganondorf slid the half-circles around his neck and let the two ends fuse together.

Whatever happened now, his choice had been made. Link bowed his head and let himself be led away - to whatever would be his world now.


	5. Walking On Eggshells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied sex of dubious consent, discussion of submission and masochism.

A week into his service, and Link already knew parts of Ganondorf's fortress better than anywhere save the forest.

For the first long, few days, he had been confined to Ganondorf's chambers, his world shrinking to the enormous bedroom, the adjoining bathroom, and a small, private dining room where the Gerudo took the occasional meal alone. Despite the virtual imprisonment, he had admired the location; the bedroom was huge, bigger than anything he had ever seen save for some of the temples, the carpet so plush his bare feet would sink into it, thick damask on the walls, deep and rich paintings and tapestries breaking up the pattern. The bed was big enough for Ganondorf and others aside - although Link had officially been given a small bed covered in soft cushions and blankets against one wall, he had drifted off in that enormous bed more than once.

The bathroom, tiled in a multitude of mosaics, was quite possibly bigger than his entire house in the forest. Certainly, the bath was almost big enough to swim in, and a variety of oils and soaps glowed softly in their bottles from the light of the lanterns. Link had discovered the pleasure of soaking in a hot bath, emerging warm and content from its depths when his allotted time had expired.

But of the three rooms, the dining room was by far his favourite. It alone featured windows - a whole wall of them, facing away from the remains of Castle Town. Immediately below them, yes, the lava lake bubbled and hissed - but beyond that laid mountains and cool blue skies beyond the ever-present clouds. Although nominally only used for eating, Link was content to idle away the hours of the first few days there, gazing at the mountains that laid beyond Hyrule's borders, the ocarina in his hands or in his lap, shifting every so often to adjust the loose, white Gerudo-style pants that he had been given to wear.

When those first few days had passed (so that they could fully trust each other, Ganondorf had claimed the first time, turning the key in the lock as he had departed), he had been permitted to leave the chambers, still restricted to that floor and the one below, but able to move more freely. The throne room had been on the same floor as the chambers, he had discovered, and so had the enormous banquet hall, huge tables low to the ground and surrounded by cushions, illuminated by lanterns. A study, always locked, sat close at hand to the throne room.

And below, there existed more pleasant areas - an enormous library filled with scrolls and books, decorated with maps of Hyrule and beyond, a gallery, full of paintings of stern-looking Gerudo men and women, and Link's favourite - a small indoor garden, along the same wall as the dining room and with the same windows, the floor given over to grass and flowers and even a few small trees.

Another few days, and the floor beneath had been opened up. This, much to Link's delight, had included the kitchens, and he was slowly making acquaintances with the servants who worked there. Not everyone there was evil, he had learnt - Gerudo women and Hylians of both sexes filled many positions in the fortress, from kitchen workers to cleaners. Many simply saw it as opportunity, a way to make a living. Few considered Ganondorf to be evil incarnate - although rumours of the presence of weapon caches and torture chambers and dungeons in the floors below were certainly a popular topic of discussion.

Here, they were removed from the monsters Link had observed on the way up. Here, it was almost a home.

And yet he could not forget that Ganondorf was a murderer. The first time that he had been guided to Ganondorf's chambers and told to wait on the bed, the image of the Great Deku Tree, grey and withered, had filled his mind. It had distracted him from his new duties, had made his movements hesitant.

It hadn't been so bad, at least. Painful, certainly - Ganondorf was significantly larger than Sheik in more than just height and muscle mass, and he was not taking as much care to avoid hurting the inexperienced Hylian - but painful in a way that sent thrills of pleasure down his spine, even if the knowledge that he was willingly giving himself over to a killer turned his stomach.

What would the Great Deku Tree have said, if he had seen Link in the bed of the man that had killed him?

He wondered how long it would take for this to become every day, to accept orders the second they were given and not hesitate. The first time he had questioned an order, the resulting blow had sent him to the floor. He had not made the same mistake again.

One week to the day after his arrival, Link had awakened in Ganondorf's bed alone, aching from the night before but otherwise well-rested. Utterly alone, he had yawned and stumbled out of the bed, hooking the Gerudo pants and gold belt that accompanied it off the floor before ambling into the bathroom.

Now well-scrubbed, he peered into the private dining room, finding his breakfast waiting for him: a simple breakfast of bread and preserves and a glass of milk. When Ganondorf had discovered his liking for it, he had ensured that a steady supply from be available from Lon Lon Ranch - a rare gesture of kindness from the Gerudo king. Sipping at the milk guiltily, Link could not help but wonder if Malon was alright.

And then he set off. There was a training room near the kitchens, and he had intended to try it out - although he was in no way permitted to use weapons, the equipment in there was aimed at strengthening one's body even without use of a blade. It would, he had decided, be useful.

But today, fate, it seemed, had other plans. No sooner than he reached the door did it swing open before him, revealing a rather startled Sheikah on the other side. Sheik's eyes had widened a little, then had caught Link by the wrist and tugged him inside the room, shoving the door shut behind him. "Link, what are you doing here?" he whispered fiercely.

"Looking around!" Link said in answer, whispering as well and not entirely sure why he was. "I'm allowed, now, I can go anywhere on this floor and the two above."

Sheik exhaled, brushing his bangs away absentmindedly. "Then he is beginning to show a little trust in you," he mused, guiding Link over to a few thick mats, stacked against one side of the room. "That is good. Have you been - well?"

"Fine, I guess," Link shrugged. Tired, certainly - but not the crushing fatigue he had felt the week before. That, at least, was some consolation.

It was a cautious, careful examination Sheik was giving him, gaze lingering on the collar around Link's neck, skimming over the fading finger-wide bruises on his upper arms and hips, glancing at the billowing pants. When he looked back up at Link's face, his expression was grim. "You're pale," he observed, "And you're bruised."

Again, Link shrugged, glancing down at the floor. "He's strong."

Strong hands holding him down against the thick mattress, digging into his biceps, pressing against his hips... beneath the fabric of his pants, his thighs shifted, the bruises there suddenly twinging.

Sighing, Sheik wrapped an arm around Link's shoulders, and Link glanced up at him in surprise - affectionate gestures from Sheik tended to be more on the rarer side, he had discovered over those past few days, and he certainly wasn't about to reject this one. With a content little sound, his head dropped to Sheik's shoulder. "It isn't terrible," he confided quietly, "But I don't really like doing that. It sort of - it feels good and bad at the same time, I guess... not physically, but I don't like it since I know what he's done."

"You feel guilty," Sheik interpreted, glancing across at Link to confirm his hypothesis. "You feel physical pleasure from it, but your guilt at doing this is marring it for you. Correct?"

Link nodded once, gaze drifting to the ground again. "Yeah. If it was someone else doing those things to me, it'd be a lot better."

The arm around his shoulders squeezed gently. "Then you do prefer submitting?" he asked cautiously, then ventured, "And you enjoy pain, to an extent?"

Did he? Link bit down on his lip, pressing down until the sting was overpowering. And then he almost laughed at the realisation that in his uncertainty over the question, he had caused pain even further. "I guess so. That's... bad, isn't it?"

What kind of a person enjoyed being hurt? Pain was bad, yet a spider's web had been woven, tying together pain and pleasure both. Remove one, and the rest would fail - pain had become something more than fear, than death, than suffering; now, it was irrevocably interwoven with pleasure.

Like the spider, Ganondorf sat where all these threads connected - and Link did not dare to struggle, for fear of the entire thing unraveling before him. The line between pain and pleasure was an incredibly thin and insubstantial one, the two divided by a mere spider's thread. There were times, he could acknowledge, where he did not know what thread an act sat on - and also knew that he did not mind.

And to enjoy being dominated like that, to find some perverse spark of pleasure in Ganondorf closing an iron hand around his shoulder and forcing him to his knees... surely that was the most deviant part of all?

"I suppose it is... a difference," Sheik said diplomatically, his expression thoughtful. "I have heard that some of the servants here serve rather willingly - they may share your, ah, tastes."

Was it just a taste? The desperate urge that he had felt since awakening, the need for someone to take all his worries away, had been more than just a taste. "I guess..." he started slowly, then let out a sigh, repositioning himself to stretch out with his head in Sheik's lap. Why was there no easy answer? "Do you have to go somewhere?"

Hesitantly, one of Sheik's hands settled in his hair, now worn loose and freed from its short tail. "Not for some time. I suppose... I can wait a little while."

"That's good." Reaching up, Link laced his fingers with Sheik's. It was nice, being looked after like this. "I really missed you, you know."

There was the faintest of chuckles, felt more than it was heard. "I missed you too. At the very least, your confinement is over now."

Link made a content sound, draping his other arm across Sheik's thighs. "That means we can see each other more, right?"

Sheik didn't answer immediately, and Link glanced up to see Sheik's expression troubled. "I do not know how prone Ganondorf is to jealousy," he started slowly, "He may not wish for me to have much to do with you."

"But he already knows about us, right?" Link pressed, "I mean, you told him."

What _had_ he told him? Frowning suddenly, he pushed himself back up, and felt Sheik's hand settle on his.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, and he at least looked regretful. "He did not know what to do with you - I believe one option was to put you to use as a labourer. I... informed him of your, ah, predilections, and suggested that he take you as a trophy, like we arranged. He wished to know how I knew." Wincing a little, he gave Link's hand another squeeze. "I'm sorry, but it was necessary."

"I guess that's okay," Link murmured, glancing back at Sheik uneasily. "It just feels weird, knowing that he knows about that..."

"If it's any consolation, I do not much like it either." Almost as an apology, Sheik set a hand on his cheek, drawing him closer for a quick kiss. "I would like to continue this. But I do think we should keep it secret for now."

Link nodded once. He was keeping so many secrets - what was one more? "I'd like that," he said, and tentatively smiled.

At least, he was glad to know, they still had each other.

 

Link's life was settling into a routine.

By day, he generally found himself with time to himself. There was little opportunity to get a breath of fresh air, yet he was growing reasonably content with life in the fortress - in the library, he slowly taught himself to read better than he ever had in the forest; in the training room, he'd exercise, let off steam and stop himself from stagnating; and the workers in the kitchen not only already knew him by name, but they usually had some sweet treat waiting for him too.

He had become somewhat well known around the fortress. Although his acts as the Hero of Time had been seriously downplayed (no longer was he a hero - no, the story had been that he was a misguided youth acting on unfamiliarity and misplaced bravado), he had heard whispers that he was fast becoming one of the Gerudo king's favourites and had, on occasion, been summoned to settle at Ganondorf's feet in the throne room or banquet hall.

Once or twice, he had been permitted to play the ocarina along with Ganondorf's organ. The music they had created had been unlike anything Link had heard before, the deep tones of the organ almost drowning out the high piping melodies of the ocarina.

At nights, he could generally be found in Ganondorf's bed, or, more rarely, his own little one. He was learning, here and there, what to do best to keep him happy - a particularly submissive way of looking at him, to hold his body. Slowly, he was learning the right things to say, closing his eyes and reciting what Ganondorf wanted to hear.

And then, here and there, in unplanned, hurried snatches, he would see Sheik. Perhaps they would cross paths in the halls, sneaking away into a nearby empty room together, Link burying his face against Sheik's shoulder and clinging for dear life. There would be quick, stolen kisses when no one was looking, the briefest of hands brushing together when they were.

Although they had not yet been intimate, not like they had been at the lake, Sheik was a near-constant yearning for Link, a distraction for when he did not have other things to occupy his mind. He looked forward to their every encounter and missed him when they were apart. The rare rendezvous that they were actually able to plan were bright spots in his day.

It was to one of these that he was heading to now, hurrying and trying to look like he wasn't, keeping a careful eye out for anyone who would recognise him. The little indoor garden tended to be abandoned half the time, and a small dip behind an artificial hill with a few concealing hedges made for a private little space.

The room was empty when he arrived. Quietly, Link closed the door behind him, making for the spot and spreading out the blanket he had borrowed. The grass beneath was soft, and he found himself relaxing as he gazed out the windows, eyes fixed on the little strip of sky between the clouds and the mountains, watching as the sun continued its downward path.

He was becoming used to this, wasn't he? Even through the occasional pain and humiliation, and even those were becoming common-place. He enjoyed it, somehow. A part of him that he couldn't define enjoyed the thrill of having someone bigger and stronger than him in control, of being able to give himself over completely.

He still did not like Ganondorf. He still had stolen his life away - if he had never attacked the Great Deku Tree, Link would have never started on his path. But perhaps he wasn't the only one to blame, and the Gerudo did treat him kindly. Sheik had said that he treated his trophies well, hadn't he?

Perhaps he would find someone else who would treat him like that when it was all over. Perhaps Sheik could treat him like that.

"Rupee for your thoughts?"

Link lifted his head, and a smile crossed his face as he offered a hand to Sheik. "I was just thinking about what it'll be like when it's over," he said softly, squeezing gently when Sheik took the offered hand and guiding him down. "You were right, you know."

"It's been known to happen occasionally." Stretching out on the blanket, Sheik let out a little sigh. "About what?"

"I do like submitting," he said quietly, turning to curl into Sheik's side. The fortress was usually warm, but he did not wear very much, and Sheik was a comforting source of heat. "I think it's okay, isn't it? It's just _who_ I'm submitting to..."

Sheik let out a wordless noise, dropping a brief kiss against Link's forehead. "What do you want to do when it's over?" he prompted gently.

"Well..." Link hesitated, then shook his head, burying his face against Sheik's chest. "Will you do that to me?"

For a moment, there was silence, and Link raised his head with no small dread to gauge Sheik's expression. The Sheikah looked utterly surprised, then exhaled with a puff of breath, bangs fluttering. "I am not sure I have the same... inclinations as you," he said with no small amount of resignation, "I'm sorry. I'm not certain I could hurt you or dominate you."

Link's face fell a little. "I guess that's okay. It was good at the lake, though."

An uneasy silence fell. Could Link adjust to not being dominated in such a fashion, once it was all over? He could not deny that Ganondorf's bigger body hovering over him, wrists pinned to the bed, felt intoxicating, satisfying in a way that he couldn't have anticipated. Sheik seemed reluctant to inflict pain. Would it be enough, once things came to their natural conclusion?

With a sigh, Link settled down against Sheik's shoulder again, one arm drifting across his waist. "I like being with you," he said softly, and fell silent again.

"But?" Sheik questioned, glancing down at him as he carded his fingers through Link's unbound hair.

"No buts. Just what I said."

Why did everything need conditions? Why was everything so complicated? Link liked being with Sheik. Yes, it would be better without the risk of being caught, with Hyrule being safe and free, with him getting what he wanted and needed... but in the end, he still liked being with Sheik.

"Hey, Sheik?" he murmured again, eyes still shut.

"Mm?"

"What will you do when it's over?"

There was a thoughtful pause. Sheik hummed a little - Link felt the vibrations, rumbling up through Sheik's chest into his cheek, mulling over his words. "I don't know, to be honest," he finally admitted. "I've spent so long serving others - I suppose I will always serve others."

"Princess Zelda?" Link asked, noting absently that his voice was a little slurred - he was growing sleepy in the warmth of the garden.

Sheik nodded, another thing that Link only felt instead of saw. "I expect so."

It had been a while since he had last seen the princess. Seven years, and she had been a child, escaping on the back of a horse, desperate hope in her eyes as she hurled the ocarina with all her strength... "I hope she doesn't think I'm bad." He sounded a little forlorn, even to himself. "For doing this."

Again, the reply was hesitant. "I do not expect she will, once she knows of the circumstances," Sheik said in a faint whisper, and Link pricked up his ears, barely catching it. "Link, it is very, very unwise to speak of her in this place."

Link blinked once, then nodded quickly. "I didn't think... sorry."

What if someone had overheard them? Suddenly paranoid, Link pushed himself up, gazing around at the garden. He saw no one (unless they were hiding behind a tree, and given how skinny most of them were, that seemed unlikely), and so let himself relax a little, settling back against Sheik's chest. "What's your favourite food?" he asked suddenly - that was safe, wasn't it?

Sheik seemed to think so, as he laughed. "What?" he chuckled, glancing down at the Hylian, and Link ducked his head.

"I was just wondering," he admitted with a sheepish smile. "I really like Lon Lon milk. And the stew with the orange fruits in it - I don't know what they're called."

"Apricots?" Sheik queried, and Link shrugged a little. "I can get you a fresh one, if you like. They grow near the border of the desert."

Link smiled gratefully - they tasted good in the stew, and hopefully they'd taste good on their own, too. "Thanks. Are there any other fruits that grow there?"

"A scarce and motley collection. Most of the foods you enjoy grow in the greenery you call Hyrule Field."

Link started violently, scrambling away from Sheik. That hadn't been the Sheikah answering - instead, Ganondorf now loomed over the two of them, watching them with detached emotion.

How much had he heard? Link's heart had settled somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach. He did not answer out loud, instead training his gaze on Ganondorf's boots, feeling his palms prickle.

"Lord Ganondorf," Sheik murmured, rising to his feet in one smooth gesture, keeping his head bowed. Even still, he sounded wary, reaching up to pull the cloth of his cowl back up to cover his face. "We - ah -"

Ganondorf smirked, glancing between the two. "Having a cozy moment?" he asked dryly, spreading his hands wide. "Kid, I'm insulted. Am I not enough to satisfy you?"

A direct address - he was expected to answer, then. Link swallowed roughly, his mouth painfully dry. "Ah - no, Master Ganondorf, I - we weren't doing anything, just..." He exhaled, fighting to keep his voice steady, trying to calm the frantic hammering of his heart. "It's not like... that, we're just - friends, I - sorry..."

Friends? No, not quite adequate - but what else could he say? He rather enjoyed kissing Sheik - yet there had been no intimacy between the two of them since they had come to the fortress.

Chuckling, Ganondorf dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Relax, kid. I'm not about to punish you."

But was he going to make him stop seeing Sheik? That would be punishment enough.

"I apologise for my interference, Lord Ganondorf," Sheik said softly, glancing back once at Link. "What would you request we do?"

Ganondorf considered for a moment, then grinned fearsomely, setting his other hand on Sheik's shoulder. "I suppose I can let you continue your play dates," he chuckled, then straightened up. "Kid, I expect you washed and ready by sunset. You will be eating with me tonight."

Link nodded once, still not looking up, barely daring to breathe until he heard the sound of fading footsteps, the door slamming shut behind the Gerudo. Raising his head cautiously, he scanned the room, just to be on the safe side, then turned to Sheik and practically clung to him. "I was so worried he was going to say I couldn't see you!" he whispered - Sheik was his bright spot in this place, and he was not sure he would want to be there without him. "I hope he didn't hear..."

Nodding, Sheik gently pressed two fingers against Link's lips. "It still concerns me," he murmured. "It is possible that he's only allowing this to have a hold over the both of us - you understand that, don't you?"

Link glanced up at him worriedly. It was true, wasn't it? If Ganondorf threatened Sheik, Link would do anything to prevent him from being hurt, and he hoped that Sheik would do the same if he was threatened himself. "I know," he whispered anxiously, "But I still don't want to stop seeing you. That's - okay, isn't it?"

With a soft sigh, Sheik reached down to collect the blanket, glancing back out the window. The sun was further down than it had been when they had first arrived, perhaps half an hour left to sunset. "It might be," Sheik said quietly, draping the blanket over Link's shoulders. "You better go get ready. I'll see you soon."

Nodding, Link ducked down for a quick kiss, smiling tentatively as he drew away. "Uh huh. Be careful, okay?"

"You too," the Sheikah told him, and Link hurried away, not quite able to resist one last look back.

Sheik stood watching the setting sun, hands folded behind his back, silhouetted against the windows. Link let his gaze linger on him for a moment, then sighed and turned away.

He had duties to perform.


	6. Shell Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Emotional manipulation, sexual references of dubious consent.

Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Enchanted Thieves, supreme ruler of Hyrule, was not happy.

Pacing the floor of his throne room, he cast the occasional glare at the door. It wasn't in his nature to be terribly patient when an appointment was due to be kept, and now three minutes had passed the hour that the Sheikah boy was supposed to arrive at.

Four minutes past the hour, and finally, the door slipped open, the boy immediately dropping into a kneel as the doors swung back. "My sincere apologies, my lord," he murmured, head bowed, "I encountered an unavoidable delay."

"You were with the kid again," Ganondorf said dryly, and the boy stiffened slightly. "I allow you to spend your time with him as a privilege, Sheik. Do not give me reason to regret that decision."

"Of course not, my lord. It will not happen again."

Ganondorf snorted. "Rise. I wish for something calming today."

Getting to his feet, the boy nodded once, retrieving the golden lyre and settling it in his arms. Eyes closed, he started on a tune, soft and calm and quiet, the images of green fields and soft water filling the room. Ganondorf nodded in satisfaction, allowing himself to be caught up in the melody.

During the briefest of pauses, he spoke up, not bothering to move from his seat. "What do you think of the kid, Sheik?"

Sheik's hands, just for a moment, faltered. "My lord?"

Opening his eyes again, Ganondorf raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "You know him well, do you not? He does seem rather attached to you. The kid is making good progress in learning to be the perfect pet."

The Sheikah watched him carefully, one red eye visible behind those ridiculous bangs.

"Does it not seem a little too perfect that this kid, supposedly chosen by the Goddesses, is such a cowardly child?" he said with a barking laugh. "The Goddesses may be capricious and unpredictable, they may favour their chosen people to the point of ridiculousness, but I did not take them for fools. Do you believe in the Goddesses, boy?"

Sheik hesitated again - Ganondorf knew entirely well what the Sheikah believed, but how had the outcasts been raised? The story of a race of people that served the Royal Family through divine commandment would not sit easily with those exiled by that very same family.

"I believe they exist, certainly," he started slowly, "But not that they are the only gods in the sky. We also believe in others, and in some of these cases, they may even trump the Golden Three - the Goddess of Time, the two Great Birds of Birth and Rebirth and Death, the God of War, the God of Chaos..."

"I get the idea," Ganondorf cut him off, waving a hand in sheer boredom. "Are you going to recite old gods all day?"

Immediately, the boy fell silent, shaking his head. "No, my lord."

Chuckling a little, he nodded once. "And what do you know of the Goddess of Time?"

Sheik's expression was stony when he answered. "She is the one who creates natural order and the progress of time. It is the belief of my people that we were ordered to serve the Royal Family eternally at her commands. We -" He hesitated, then pushed on with, "We also believe that the gods are not infallible, and that when our divinely-selected masters mistreat us, then we are no longer accountable to them and may choose our own masters."

"Like you have done," Ganondorf finished, and Sheik nodded once. "It is an interesting thing, free will. It allows us to walk away from long-held masters, and to find some modicum of freedom. And yet it also may be freely relinquished."

The boy's eyes were fixed on him. Ganondorf stared back, silently challenging him to look away - he did, after a moment. "You -" His voice was uncertain. "You refer to my choice to serve you, my lord?"

"And the kid's. He was given - what, a divine mission?" He laughed again. "And yet he chose to walk away from it. You two are pretty similar. Both traitors to your gods."

That eye contact was long gone. Sheik stared at the floor, hands tight around the lyre. Ganondorf considered him for a moment - he had known Sheik since the skinny thirteen-year-old in desert rags had approached him, a scant month or so after his conquest of Hyrule. He had pleaded to be allowed to serve. And now, seven years on, another boy had showed up on his doorstep, begging to be kept at his tender mercies - and at the original's request, no less.

How little must they trust their deities, to turn to Ganondorf as their new god?

"I will be frank with you, Sheik." Rising to his feet, he strode over, towering over the boy. "The kid is a little too eager to please. Even when he shies from my touch, he returns to it. Is he truly this willing to submit, or is there some other trickery motivating him?"

The Sheikah's shoulders rose and fell once; he had drawn in a careful breath. "I can't be totally certain," he said softly, and finally, he lifted his head. "I think that there could - potentially - be something else going on. But even if he has the potential to be the hero that the Goddesses requested of him, I don't believe it's inevitable that he will be. When he came to me, he told me that he was sick of fighting and that he wanted to end it, but he also believed that you were a demonic tyrant hell-bent on crushing Hyrule beneath your heel. He - expressed an interest in not leaving Hyrule at your mercy."

Ganondorf stared down at him, then nodded once. There was no dishonesty in Sheik's eyes - the kid he took to his bed certainly may have had ulterior motives, and Sheik was freely divulging them. "Got any bright ideas, then?" he asked, not looking away.

The kid clearly doted on Sheik. Were the feelings mutual?

Sheik frowned thoughtfully beneath the cowl, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "If he isn't sincere, then it's possible that he sees you as very... one-dimensional," he finally suggested cautiously, "That you're irredeemably evil and must be stopped at any cost. It may..."

His gaze dropped to the carpet, his brow furrowed in thought.

"It may be helpful if you try to appeal to his sense of compassion," he continued quietly. "If you explain to him why you did all this - he may come to understand that you're not the monster he could potentially see you as."

For a moment, Ganondorf considered. Appeal to his sense of compassion, huh... if the kid truly did have delusions of heroics, then perhaps he could truly, sincerely win him over. And quite aside from removing yet another obstacle to his rule, he was coming to enjoy having him in his bed, warm and responsive and eager to please.

"Not a bad idea." Ganondorf gave the Sheikah a grin, then gave him a nudge towards the door. "That'll be all for the day. You're free to go. Go give the puppy his pettings."

Sheik paused briefly, then nodded. "Yes, my lord," he said simply and started for the door. "I hope things go your way."

"Oh, so do I," the Gerudo king murmured as the doors swung shut behind him. "So do I."

 

Shifting his leaden limbs beneath the sheets, Link stifled a yawn.

It was hard not to feel fatigued after one of their sessions, and he longed to either drift off or move to his own little bed. But Ganondorf had not given him permission to do either, and the ache in his body had yet to fade - moving anywhere would be rather painful.

In lieu of anything else to do, he gazed up at the canopy, tracing the patterns of the swathes of silk that draped across the bed. They were geometric and colourful, in deep, rich shades of red and orange and gold and purple, looking like living fire above them. The beads that fringed them were a deep golden yellow, the same gem that studded Ganondorf's armour, remarkably similar to the cold, gold shade of his eyes.

Were they Gerudo fabrics? Link never had ventured into the desert, although he knew now that he had been near - the source of the river, flowing into Lake Hylia, travelled first from Zora's Domain, across the field, past the castle, and then through the gorge that separated Hyrule Field from Gerudo Valley. He had bathed in waters that had split the desert from the field - and then he had gone no closer.

"Deep thoughts?" came a chuckle from beside him, and Link started.

"I was just -" He glanced back at the Gerudo's face, then lifted a hand to the fabrics. "The fabrics. They're Gerudo, aren't they?"

Ganondorf nodded once. "The patterns are typical of my people. We are a desert race - their colours are a part of us. Do you like them?"

"They're pretty," Link answered, then ducked his head at the childish phrasing. "I mean - I've never seen any like that."

Making a content sound, Ganondorf rolled on to his back. "The Gerudo were all but unknown to most of Hyrule," he said almost thoughtfully, propping his head back on his hands. "We were seen as thieves and vagabonds, drifting here and there to take advantage of good, hard-working Hylians." Snorting, he shook his head. "Of course, those Hylians were near-sighted. They lacked the knowledge that would give them a more objective view of the world."

Curiously, Link turned on his side to face him. "What knowledge?" he asked curiously, gaze flickering up to the Gerudo's face.

"We were a subjugated race," he said simply. "The Gerudo possessed as much right as the Hylians to this land - and yet we were banished from the green fields to the desert. No matter how many emissaries we sent to plead our case - the king of Hyrule was resolute. The Gerudo belonged to the desert only, and our winds were to be the burning winds that scorched the land by day and the freezing gale swept across it by night."

He chuckled darkly, still gazing up at the canopy.

"And we could only watch as sweet, fresh breezes swept across the fields of Hyrule, bringing life to the stupid, sheltered Hylians as we contended only with winds that brought death. I am the king of the Gerudo. Is it surprising, then, that I would not go to desperate measures to ensure that my people would survive?"

"But -" Link started, then shook his head. "...Never mind. I'm sorry."

Ganondorf turned his head, fixing Link with a pointed stare. "Continue your thought, boy."

Link winced a little, shifting his gaze to the pillows, instead. "But you shouldn't have killed people," he said finally, his voice barely audible. "You killed the Great Deku Tree. And you killed the king, didn't you?"

"And?" Ganondorf pointed out. "This is politics. I apologise for killing the tree. But not every outcome will be a neat and tidy one. And have you not noticed that there have been precious few casualties since?"

Hesitating, Link recalled Kakariko Village. Nearly everyone he had seen in Castle Town - they were all there now, weren't they? No one out of Castle Town had died, as far as he knew. Indeed, some working in the fortress seemed better off.

But the Gorons and the Zoras... and he could not forget the Great Deku Tree, going grey, going silent.

And yet, Ganondorf had done what he had to try and help his people. Surely that wasn't a bad thing?

"What about the Gorons and Zoras?" he finally asked, voice hesitant.

Ganondorf shrugged a little. "Again, an unpleasant necessity. You've slaughtered countless beings you deemed to be monsters, haven't you?"

And he turned, his back to Link again, ending the conversation and leaving him alone with his thoughts.

A race of people held under the thumb of a foreign king, unable to find aid... the necessities of doing what was right for one's own people... and his own hands, stained with blood.

It would be a long time before Link found sleep.

 

"Have you ever been to the desert, Sheik?"

Lifting his head from the book he had been pouring over, Sheik glanced back at Link, a curious expression on his face. "Why do you ask?"

Link shrugged a little, fidgeting with the corner of his own book, the one he had been only distractedly studying (somewhat less wordy than Sheik's own). "It - Master Ganondorf said something a few nights ago. He said that the winds there aren't really nice."

Sheik set his book down, placing a bookmark between the pages before turning to Link more fully. "I have been there, yes," he answered with a dip of the head. "And the winds can be ferocious. If you are caught in a sandstorm, the sand can strip skin off flesh and flesh off bone, but even on calmer days, the westerly winds are still terribly hot."

He shook his head, brushing his fingers over the cowl almost absently. "And at night, the winds change direction. The mountains north of Hyrule - there's nothing really but empty plains and more desert between it and Gerudo Valley, and the winds can be frigid."

Scorching hot by day, freezing by night... Link nodded once, frowning. "He said that the winds brought death," he said quietly, unable to imagine anything like it. The breezes that wound through the forest tended to be sweet with the smell of greenery, and storms were infrequent. Were those the winds Ganondorf and his people could only watch?

Sheik had become solemn. "Gerudo Valley is an inhospitable place," he conceded. "The valley itself has some patches of greenery - they grow apricots and dates there, and a few other things. And they can draw water from the river. But it lies on the edge of a desert that's many times bigger than Hyrule itself - our borders are only a little way in, comparatively speaking. Hyrule ends just beyond the Desert Colossus. There's an immense statue of a goddess of the sand..."

Link lifted his head curiously. _One inside a goddess of the sand..._ "One of the temples?" he mouthed, not daring to speak the words out loud with others in the room, and Sheik nodded once in confirmation.

So perhaps he would see the desert.

"He said that the king of Hyrule didn't let the Gerudo come into the field," he confided quietly, feeling a little lost over the whole thing. Didn't that make the king of Hyrule the one in the wrong, condemning the Gerudo to a place that was barely hospitable?

Ganondorf shouldn't have killed him. But what if he had had no choice, with his people dying?

"Link?" Sheik asked softly, and Link shook himself off, glancing up at him.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

Sheik gave him a quick smile, then turned back to his book. "Try not to concern yourself with it. You may be Hylian, but neither you nor anybody else were responsible for what the king did."

Link nodded once, a distracted dip of the head, and glanced down at his own book. "It's hard... not to think about it," he admitted quietly, then sighed.

What if Ganondorf had been in the right...?

 

"Come here, kid."

Ganondorf sounded bored. From his spot near the bench in front of the organ, Link started upright, then hurried over, kneeling before the man. "Yes, Master Ganondorf?"

His lips curled into a smile, and he gestured to the spot at his feet. "No - come _here_ , kid," he repeated, and Link gave him a swift glance before shifting again to the position he had indicated - slightly off to one side, kneeling on the floor beside him, trying hard to avoid the spiked ornamentation on his knee armour and boots.

A heavy hand landed in his hair, petting him like an animal. "Good boy. You've become very well-behaved, haven't you?"

Had he? A frown crossed Link's face before he became aware of the fact that he had leaned into the hand currently petting him. Something in his stomach flipped - it felt good, didn't it? Being petted and pampered like this...

"Yes, Master Ganondorf," he murmured, gaze fixed on the floor. "I hope you are pleased with my behaviour."

Lessons flitted through his mind. Never make eye contact unless requested. Never speak unless spoken to first. Never contradict Ganondorf or show him disrespect. And, above all, do everything ever requested of him, without thinking, without hesitating, without complaining.

It was becoming second nature to him. And he wasn't altogether sure he hated it.

Big fingers twisted in his hair, then loosened again. "I have decided," Ganondorf announced idly, "That you will grow your hair out. I prefer seeing long hair, and yours is too short."

Link raised a hand to his hair - loose from its ponytail, it brushed his shoulders. That had been a surprise in and of itself - another thing he had awakened with with no knowledge of how it had happened. "Yes, Master Ganondorf," he murmured, trying to picture himself with long hair and not quite succeeding in the task.

Still, if that was what Ganondorf wanted...

Almost to himself, he stilled. What was he thinking? Was he really considering growing his hair long just at Ganondorf's say so? True, it was hardly the biggest request he could make. But he had considered it almost immediately, with little to no hesitation. He was becoming the servant that Ganondorf had wanted.

Was that really so bad? Was it truly the worst thing in the world, if it meant achieving his goals? Already, he was getting his energy back, even if the thought of taking on yet another temple filled him with quiet dread. Already, the experiment had served its purpose - he was not so tired.

But maybe he didn't have to face another temple. What if there was another way? What if he could find a path without having to fight? Ganondorf seemed content to rule, and it was true that he didn't go out mindlessly killing people. His intentions had been good from the start, he had simply gone about it the wrong way, and as a ruler, he did not have to resort to death and violence to get what was best for his people.

Ganondorf, Link was learning, was not that bad. What if, slowly but surely, he and Sheik could change him for the better? There would be no more threats to the Gorons, just talking things over. The Zora would not be frozen in ice. Princess Zelda, hidden away somewhere, could come back - he doubted Ganondorf would want to share power, but maybe she could be important somehow too.

It was true, Hyrule deserved a good ruler. But what if Ganondorf had the potential to be that ruler?

And then he, in that case, would stay at his side and in his bed. Link's cheeks reddened a little as a few stray memories flitted by - a subtle ache in his shoulders and his wrists immobilised, a silk cloth blocking all sight and forcing his sense of hearing and touch, taste and smell, to dizzying heights, pleasure and pain and sheer feeling coursing up his spine.

It was not that bad. Indeed, he was finding that this was who he was - someone who enjoyed a touch of pain, to be held down, to respond to demands quickly and fluidly. He was learning to submit and learning to enjoy submission.

But he also still worried and cared and fretted about things outside the walls of the fortress. Here, he was safe - outside, there were people that were not. He knew that he had to do something - that had been their aim from the start. Sheik's idea had never been total surrender - merely an alternate path.

That alternate path, though - it still was intended to end with Ganondorf's defeat. And Link was coming to wonder if perhaps, just perhaps, it didn't have to be that way.

With a sigh, he leaned into the hand still absentmindedly petting his hair. Ganondorf glanced down at him from the scroll he was reading and chuckled. "Enjoying yourself, kid?"

Link sighed, a content little noise. "Yes, Master Ganondorf."

The Gerudo laughed and ruffled his hair. "Just like a lap cat," he mused, then grinned. "You make a good pet, kid."

Glancing up at him through his bangs, Link made another little sound, this one a little questioning. "If that's what you wish... Master Ganondorf?"

Had he become a pet? Perhaps he should have felt humiliated - but what other word was there for someone whose every physical need was being met, who enjoyed being petted and protected?

Perhaps he had become his pet.

Still - pets could influence, too. He remembered being a child, a clumsy child with careless grabbing hands, and finding a lizard sunning itself on a rock. Saria had taught him how to care for it, how to feed it insects and how to ensure it got enough sun, and how to ensure it thrived. A mere pet, to him - a lizard, far smaller than a Kokiri, influential to no one.

And yet that lizard had taught him responsibility. When it had chosen to leave, he had watched it go sadly, yet he had learnt from it.

Even if Ganondorf merely saw him as a pet - maybe he could learn from Link, too. Maybe he could become a true leader, one who did not need to kill. Maybe he did not need to take up the Master Sword again to save the world.

When he departed the throne room that evening, following in Ganondorf's footsteps as they made their way to the banquet hall, Link was silent, deep in thought. It did not have to end in war and bloodshed and fighting. A mere pet could make a difference. This life, truly, was not so bad.

He saw Sheik briefly from across the hall, and nodded once, flashing him a relieved grin - all was well. All was under control. When they next had the chance, he would tell Sheik his conclusions - surely he would agree, think it was better than being forced to fight?

When next they saw each other, he could describe the world he was imagining.

And then everything would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm moving tomorrow! As such, I'll probably be without internet for several days. If that's the case, updates of Shells will have to be delayed until then. Sorry about that!


	7. In A Nutshell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: References to sex, Stockholm Syndrome.

After so many weeks indoors, the feeling of unadulterated, unfiltered sunlight on Link's face was a revelation.

That afternoon, Ganondorf had been particularly kind to Link. Outside the persistent barrier of clouds that marked the location of the fortress, it was a gloriously sunny day outside. A gentle breeze was blowing, sending the leaves of the trees fluttering, the scent of sunlit grass filled the air, and the Gerudo king had decided that Link was trustworthy enough to spend a few precious hours outside.

Of course, a full compliment of Gerudo waited inconspicuously nearby, and Sheik had been sent to accompany him - but that, of course, was just so everyone could remain trusting of each other.

Still, escape wasn't particularly a high priority for Link, who was sprawled back in the grass, the usual white Gerudo pants replaced with a slightly sturdier pair, accompanied by thin slippers and a loose white tunic that didn't exactly serve much to protect him from the ticklish grass - indeed, it barely reached the top of the pants, eternally in a state of slipping off his shoulders.

It was definitely not a problem for Link, who was content to simply lie there, the sun warming his skin, listening to Sheik idly pluck away at his lyre from nearby.

"Isn't this nice?" he murmured almost drowsily, stretching his arms above his head languidly. "I wish there was more sun at the fortress."

The music halted for a moment, then started up again. "I suppose so," Sheik murmured, "I suppose it's just the influence of the fortress itself. Many of the creatures in Ganondorf's employ are not particularly fond of the sun."

There was some hidden meaning in there, Link was sure of it, but he was simply too drowsy to take note of what it was. "Well, they should try it some time." The mental image of a ReDead frolicking through the grass, shading its eyes from the sun, crossed his mind, and he chuckled out loud.

ReDeads aside, and even those were limited only to the exterior of the building and the grounds, things had been almost pleasant lately. Ganondorf was treating him well, like a beloved pet who received the best meals at dinner (well, no - not the best, that went to Ganondorf himself and his higher officers, but certainly better than the servants) and always had a comfortable and warm place to sleep at night.

His freedom around the fortress had increased, and now he could come and go (almost) wherever he wanted - only the armoury and the very lowest levels remained out of bounds. And it was true, he was still not permitted to train with weapons - but that did not stop him going through invisible sword movements in the training hall.

It had been some time since he had done that. The bulk of his time was spent in Ganondorf's chambers, in the library (mostly at Sheik's request - the Sheikah had insisted that he become fluent in reading and writing both), in the indoor garden, and in the kitchen. And, lately, he had been introduced to a new room - Ganondorf's private music room, lined with instruments from Hyrule and beyond.

From the vast array of written music, he was learning entirely new melodies. The instruments had been fascinating - he was making slow progress on a stringed instrument held in the lap, and the sheer variety of percussion was a delight to him. Still, it was the Ocarina of Time he favoured, and the Ocarina of Time he played the most frequently.

Sheik, on occasion, joined in, their duets filling the indoor garden with music. These were the moments he most cherished, little soothing moments of peace where he was not Ganondorf's pet, where he was simply himself.

The music stopped again, and Link cracked open one eye. Sheik had risen to his feet, settling next to Link. "I believe I have finally worked this piece," he told him, and began playing again - something light and cheerful.

The air around them, just for a moment, shimmered.

"I've created an illusion," the Sheikah said suddenly, his voice soft, immediately serious, "Surrounding us. Any of the Gerudo that look over will only see you listening to music and myself playing. They will not see our mouths move. The illusion does not cover sound, and so I will continue playing to cover the noise. The wind is in our favour."

Link propped himself up, glancing around at the surrounding Gerudo, and nodded. None of them were downwind, and the breeze was only gentle. "What is it?" he asked - whatever it was, Sheik looked almost worried.

"You have rested for a very long time," he whispered, gaze flickering to the entrance of Kakariko Village, not far off from where they were settled. "Now that you are allowed out, please work on gaining more of these privileges. It would be best if you could arrange it so that our guard is no longer necessary - preferably, try to act as if my guardianship would be sufficient. We _must_ awaken the next two sages as soon as possible."

Link winced - he had a feeling it couldn't last forever, that once he was well-rested, his responsibilities would rise up again. "Would he really let us go anywhere for hours, though?" he asked doubtfully. "Temples take a long time to get to - isn't there a way to find the sage straight away?"

Sheik, expression composed and still playing the lyre, shook his head once. "It would make our job substantially easier if there was. If there is a way, we will find it."

Exhaling, Link laid himself back again. "Can't you go and awaken them?" he asked softly.

The stare Sheik gave him suggested that that probably wasn't the brightest of questions.

"It must be the Hero of Time who awakens them. No one else. But..." Another glance in the direction of the village, and Sheik shook his head in resignation. "For the Shadow Temple, I will accompany you. There is something I must search for, but when that task is complete, we will begin to make preparations."

Then he wouldn't be alone? Link smiled gratefully. "Thanks. It's not something like the Goron or Zora tunic, is it?"

Again, Sheik shook his head. "It is an item that will give you one of the most crucial abilities that the Sheikah naturally possess - the ability to see through illusion. The Shadow Temple is a Sheikah temple, and illusions and traps are everywhere."

Link gave him a concerned look. The expression on Sheik's face - was it his imagination, or was there dread there? "If it's a Sheikah temple, then you must know it really well, right?"

Sheik did not answer, merely bowing his head over the lyre again. "Lie back down. I will end the illusion now," he told Link softly, and Link immediately did as instructed. Again, the air shimmered. All was as it was.

And Link was left with the prospect of a temple ahead, and a Sheikah guide who seemed curiously reluctant to say anything about it at all...

 

"I may have an idea," Sheik told him a few days later, dabbing red potion over Link's sunburnt shoulders and arms, the two secluded away in a little room off to the side of the (rather small) infirmary. The day had been sunnier than either of them had expected - and when Link had fallen asleep, caught up in the pleasure of two days out in one week, the sun had burned him into a painful red crisp.

"Ow - what's that?" Link asked, glancing over his shoulder and wincing as the movement stretched the skin of his neck and back. Something to do with the upcoming temple, then? Sheik hadn't spoken of it since his first excursion out, and Link had not been able to bring himself to ask.

Another dab of the cloth, and Sheik let out a thoughtful little hum. "It is unlikely that Ganondorf will come to trust you enough by the time it is necessary to leave for the temple, correct?" he questioned, and Link nodded a little grudgingly. True, he had let him out a second time - but the Gerudo had, again, accompanied them and in no fewer numbers than the first time. "Then we will need a way to get you out, away from prying eyes, for a short amount of time."

"What was your idea?" Link asked curiously, biting his lip at another painful twinge of his shoulders. This was ridiculous - he could handle whatever Ganondorf threw at him (for the most part, at least), yet he was stopped in his tracks by a little sunburn...

Carefully, Sheik wet the cloth again in the bowl of potion, wrung out the excess, and slid it over Link's skin again. "Simple. I'll poison you."

Link promptly choked.

" _What_?" he wheezed, and Sheik patted him helpfully on the back (thankfully, on an area that hadn't been burnt).

"It's quite simple, really," Sheik murmured, looking as if he hadn't just nearly caused the Hero of Time to choke to death on his own tongue. "Ganondorf allows me to take care of you when you are ill or injured - like so." With a nod to the red potion, he applied the cloth to Link's shoulders again. "It would not do to fake an illness - it would be far too easy for that to be discovered. For the best chance of success, you must be genuinely ill. When you come down with your symptoms, you will be diagnosed with a common minor stomach ailment, and I will generously offer to let you rest somewhere quiet until you are feeling better - perhaps for the night, so your tossing and turning does not disturb Ganondorf. And then, of course, I will create the illusion that you are sleeping... relatively peacefully, and we will warp to the temple directly."

Link stared at him skeptically. "Um, that's good, except for the part where you _poisoned_ me," he pointed out weakly, and Sheik chuckled.

"It's very minor," he said reassuringly, "Painful, but only for an hour, perhaps two. This is a poison we tend to administer on ourselves when necessary, not one intended for enemies." Setting down the cloth, he shifted to face Link directly. "If you can endure the things Ganondorf does to you in bed, you can endure this for an hour."

Link deflated a little, picking sullenly at the blanket. "The things Ganondorf does to me in bed feel _good_ ," he muttered petulantly.

Sheik stilled before returning to applying the potion. "Don't get too used to it," he advised softly, but there was the faintest hint of a threat in his voice. "You still need to kill him."

"Do I have to?" Link asked, softly, but audibly enough to make Sheik's hand tighten on the cloth.

"Of course you do." Sheik's voice was brittle. "Hyrule is depending on you. You can't tell me you'd be willing to let them down, can you?"

He had disappointed Sheik, hadn't he? Link bowed his head a little. "Just... I was thinking," he said softly, "Ganondorf said he only wanted to help his people, and -" He exhaled heavily, bangs ruffling in the puff of air. "Well - I know he's done some bad stuff, but I have too, and - what if he can change?"

"Link..." There was a soft splash as Sheik dropped the cloth back into the bowl of potion. "He murdered the king of Hyrule in cold blood. He tried to starve the Gorons, then tried to feed them to a dragon. He froze the Zora in ice. He filled the forest with monsters and poisoned the Great Deku Tree - your protector!"

Almost violently, Link jerked away from him. "Don't," he whispered, the memory of the Great Deku Tree going still and grey intruding on his thoughts again. "The king of Hyrule didn't care that his people were suffering. He - what he did was wrong, but he just wanted to help..."

Was this beginning to get to him? Over what Ganondorf had done, what the king of Hyrule had done? Link raised a hand to his eyes, and they came away damp.

There was a shift of cloth, and Sheik moved to kneel directly in front of Link, setting his hands on Link's shoulders. "You must not lose sight of what you set out to do," he said, and his voice was more serious than Link had ever heard it. "You were divinely appointed by the Goddesses themselves to complete this task, and even if you see yourself as less than an ideal candidate, I do not believe they were wrong."

"But what if they were?" he returned softly. "Do they know _everything_? He wanted to make sure his people were safe - that's not bad, is it?"

"Not on its own." Sheik shook his head, sighing a little. "But not every action is the correct one. Has it occurred to you that there were alternatives that did not involve murder?"

Stubbornly, Link fixed his gaze on the wall, scowling a little. "It's not fair," he grumbled, "It isn't fair that anyone has to suffer. Why can't everyone be happy?"

Sheik's eyes slid shut, and, almost impulsively, he dipped his head to press his lips gently to Link's forehead. "You are a hero. Whether you believe that you are or not."

And he turned away, busying himself with squeezing out the rag, gathering it and the bowl of mostly-finished potion. "Your burns have been treated - they should feel better within the hour. Perhaps you should get some dinner."

"I guess." Still downcast, Link got to his feet, carefully avoiding Sheik's eyes. "Um - I -"

What could he say? He was sorry that he sympathised for Ganondorf? He was sorry that he didn't think the king of Hyrule had been right? He was sorry that he wasn't the hero that Sheik - and everyone else - expected him to be?

"I'm sorry," he finally finished with, voice small, and turned to the door.

Sheik might have thought that the Goddesses had entrusted him with this task. But as Link slowly trudged up the stairs towards Ganondorf's chambers, he couldn't help but wonder if he was wrong.

 

It was only a day or two later that it finally happened.

Shattering the peace of the throne room, a messenger had run in, breathless from the seemingly endless stairs he had just had to traverse. "My lord," he wheezed, dropping to one knee - Link, settled at Ganondorf's feet, lifted his head curiously, and the music Sheik had been playing halted. "The - the village, it -"

Ganondorf stared down at him curiously, unbothered by the messenger's flustered appearance and speech. "Speak clearly," he told him in a bored manner, "Take a breath before speaking."

The messenger nodded, swallowing tightly and drawing in a few steadying breaths. "It's Kakariko Village, my lord," he finally managed to say, his voice still a little raspy. "It's burning!"

Gazing at the messenger thoughtfully, Ganondorf nodded once. "Has the cause of the blaze been determined?" he asked, and the messenger - he wasn't much older than a boy, Link noted, at least several years his junior - shook his head frantically.

"They said it started at that old place - the really creepy one. But it's spreading - they need more people to fight it!"

Again, Ganondorf nodded once, looking utterly unbothered by the prospect of a village burning to the ground. Link glanced up at him worriedly - he had liked Kakariko Village, its calmness and quiet. "I will send a squadron to help," he proclaimed, waving a hand in Sheik's direction. "Gather them, Sheik, and then proceed to the village. I wish to see what you can find."

"My lord," Sheik murmured, bowing low as the lyre disappeared again and he hurried out, the messenger close behind. Link felt his stomach twist uncomfortably as he glanced up at Ganondorf.

"Will the village be okay?" he asked softly, ducking his head at the unprovoked question. "Just - it's nice there, and..."

Almost softly, Ganondorf shoved at him, and Link rocked back on his knees. "Do not speak without permission," he chided gently, "And I have no doubts it will survive. Do not concern yourself with it."

But he already had, hadn't he? Link nodded quickly at the rebuke, then fell silent, dropping his head to rest on Ganondorf's leg with a soft sigh.

It had started like this everywhere. The forest had been infested with monsters, and he had had to go to the Forest Temple. Death Mountain had been on the verge of eruption, and his destination had been the Fire Temple. Zora's Domain had been frozen solid, and that had necessitated his visit to the Water Temple.

And now Kakariko Village was in flame, and Kakariko Village, he knew, was where the Shadow Temple laid.

Somehow, he got the feeling that he would be seeing it sooner rather than later...

 

By the time Sheik returned, barely an hour had passed, yet Link was growing anxious.

What had happened to Kakariko Village? Were its people all right? Did this have anything to do with the Shadow Temple, or was it, perhaps, utterly unrelated? What was he meant to do next, how was he meant to get out of the fortress (and did it really involve being poisoned)?

The sight of the Sheikah was a welcome relief. Sheik smelt of smoke and burning wood, his expression grim and smudges of soot marring the whiteness of his outfit. "The fire has been largely contained, my lord," he announced, and Ganondorf nodded.

"Cause?"

"Still unknown," Sheik said with a grimace, shaking his head. "I would like to request permission to go back to investigate further - I believe magic may have been involved."

Ganondorf considered, his chin in his hand, then nodded once. "Go. If there is a magic user causing trouble, we certainly don't want them running around, do we?" He smirked a little, waving his other hand. "And keep an eye out for any... suspicious behaviour, hm?"

Sheik bowed low. "Of course, my lord." Catching Link's eye, he gave him a quick smile, the muscles of his face shifting a little beneath the cowl. And then he was gone again, and Link was left with the knowledge that facing the next temple would be soon.

The evening pressed on, and eventually Ganondorf sent Link back to his chambers to prepare for bed. Trudging into the adjoining bathroom, Link took a deep breath, then splashed cold water in his face in the basin, stared at his reflection in the big bathroom mirror, and frowned.

He looked tired. Certainly, he felt more relaxed, but... he looked tired, dark smudges beneath his eyes.

Was it really just the prospect of a temple ahead?

Eventually, he returned to the bedroom, stripping off and folding the white pants neatly to be washed before settling himself on the big bed. Tugging the blankets up to his chin, he curled up into a neat ball on his side, gazing blankly outwards at the mostly dark room. It was quiet, in here, and calm. Link could drift off to sleep until Ganondorf returned - or he could be alone with his thoughts.

Did he want to leave people in danger, abandon them when they most needed a hero? Of course he did not, but he was starting to have serious reservations on whether or not they _needed_ a hero. Didn't Ganondorf take care of them? He had sent his own people to Kakariko Village to fight the fire, and that certainly wasn't the mark of a tyrant who wanted to kill everyone.

He was generally good to his staff, moments of irritation at the occasional mistake they made notwithstanding. He knew from talking to the men and women in the kitchen that they were paid well and could send the money home to their families. Castle Town was... no longer viable as a place to live, but a daily market had arisen in Kakariko Village instead, and people did not go hungry.

And the Gerudo in the fortress - working in a comfortable, secure fortress (even if it did look terrifying from the outside) had to be better than a desert torn between blistering heat by day and frigid cold at night.

And then there was himself.

Link was well fed and well rested, the dark shadows beneath his eyes a curiosity that contradicted how he actually felt. He could find entertainment when necessary, he could see Sheik (almost) whenever he wanted. And, despite the part of him that still held reservations, he could not deny that he enjoyed their encounters.

He dreaded the idea of all this coming to an end. When this ended, _if_ it ended, he would find himself displaced. The forest was not his home any more, and perhaps it never had been - he was a Hylian that had been raised by the Kokiri, cursed to grow older while they forever stayed the same. He was the boy without a fairy, Navi only sent to him at a dying tree's request, and the only friend he had ever had there was now long gone.

And yet, Hyrule was scarcely his home, either. He was a Hylian that had been raised by the Kokiri, and that curse went both ways. He had not been brought up in the place his blood dictated that he belonged to. Their customs were strange to him, as foreign to him as living with the Gorons or the Zoras would be. In the land of his birth, he felt like a stranger.

But here, now, was a third option. If things could stay the same - or even improve, with all of Hyrule's citizens treated fairly and without threat of violence, then he could find a place for himself. Already, he had somewhere where he felt he belonged - in Ganondorf's fortress, in Ganondorf's chambers, in Ganondorf's bed, greeting the Gerudo king after a long day with a promise of warmth and companionship and pleasure.

It was nice, belonging somewhere, belonging to someone. He did not have to worry about his lack of a fairy or his perplexity at alien customs - he simply had to listen to Ganondorf's requests and fulfill them.

And Sheik - Sheik had this power over him as well, whether he acknowledged it or not. If Sheik requested something of him, then he would do it - but when those requests clashed with those of Ganondorf's, then Link found himself like this - torn between two ideals.

Sheik wanted him to clear the last two temples, to awaken the sages, to become powerful enough to end the life of the man who had taken him in and given him a strange sort of purpose. How was that gratitude? There was no indication which way he should go, which way he should decide. He did not know how to make them both happy.

Was he meant to be a hero or simply Ganondorf's pet?

Still, perhaps he didn't have to decide yet. There were still two temples to go and only one where the need had become urgent. Rolling over on to his side, he came to a tentative decision - he would go with Sheik to the Shadow Temple and do what was required of him there. It would give him time - time to determine which path was the one he was meant to take, no need to take a stance either way. Even if he took action to awaken the sage, an action against Ganondorf, there still remained one last temple that he could clear or refuse.

It simply depended on how things would play out. Could he convince Sheik? Would something in the fortress prompt him to change his mind? He could not say.

The hours slipped by, and eventually Ganondorf returned, stripping off and slipping beneath the blankets beside him. Half asleep and groggy, Link rolled back and gave him an exhausted smile. "Master Ganondorf," he murmured, watching sleepily for any orders.

"Go to sleep," Ganondorf grunted in return, closing his eyes as he wrapped a possessive arm around Link's waist. Link nodded once and allowed himself to relax, head tucked under Ganondorf's chin, breathing in deeply the musky scent of his body.

This would not be an easy decision...


	8. A Shell Of Their Former Self

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Shadow Temple. Yes, the Shadow Temple is a warning. Implied non-consensual situations at the end.

High above Kakariko Village, a strange bird was calling.

Three times in a row, it trilled, pausing once before calling twice, then three times again. Gazing out carefully from her place hidden in the shadows, the watcher whistled twice in reply, then stepped out into the rain.

She had dressed inconspicuously, wary even as she stole towards a house standing above others in the village. Her hair was pulled back tightly in an unobtrusive braid, her clothing dark and easy to move in. Beneath the dark cloak she wore, disguising the brightness of her blonde hair, the faint outline of a bow and quiver could be seen.

The strange bird called again, three then three then one, low and soft and very close by. From out of the shadows, a hand emerged, beckoning once, and she followed.

"You made it back?" she whispered as soon as he was in earshot. Sheik, waiting in the gloom beside Impa's house, nodded once.

"He won't expect me back for hours. Are you alright, Zelda?"

Zelda smiled sadly, gaze flickering in the direction of the graveyard. "I am. She's gone, though - she's going to try to seal it."

Sheik exhaled, then peered out carefully. "The coast is clear," he murmured, and the two hurried out, making for the door of Impa's house. Inside, it was empty (as Impa had left it), and Zelda straightened up, brushing the hood back and lighting a candle, as Sheik secured the door behind them. "What has she told you?"

With a sigh, Zelda set herself down at the table, resting her chin in one hand. "The monster she saw - she said it was one she sealed years ago, before either of us were born. It's the spirit of an old Sheikah who used dark magic and was executed - it was going to head for the Shadow Temple, where he died." Her eyes flickered up at Sheik. "It's grown powerful. We're going to need the Hero of Time and without much delay."

Impa had sealed it once before. But now it had twenty years of slow-growing hatred and vengeance fueling its movements, and Impa was still only one woman. There was a slow, terrified ache in Zelda's chest - the thought of what might happen to the woman who might as well have been her mother laid heavily in her thoughts.

What if she died in there? It was a real possibility.

Shaking off dark thoughts, she glanced back at Sheik again. "When will the Hero be ready to go? Can he go tonight?"

For just a moment, Sheik hesitated. To anyone else, perhaps it would have gone unnoticed - but she had known Sheik for too long to not pick up when he was uneasy about something. "It's doubtful - the last I checked, he was preparing to sleep. I will bring him here in the morning."

Zelda nodded once, but a frown remained on her face. "Is he still recovering from his illness?" she asked, fighting to keep the suspicion out of her tone, "It does seem to be taking some time."

"Some people heal slowly, I suppose," Sheik said with a little shrug, this time, not hesitating at all. "He should be ready to proceed to the Shadow Temple soon - and we should be setting off, too."

With a soft sigh, Zelda tugged the hooded cloak off - it would not be needed beneath the ground - and blew out the candle. "Let's go," she said reluctantly and followed Sheik to the cage that had once held Impa's cow.

This would be particularly unpleasant. Beneath the upper end of Kakariko Village, adjoining the nearby Shadow Temple, a secret warren of passages twisted and turned. Here, dark things thrived - things that skittered through the dark, grasping hands that plucked up those unaware, the remains of the dead. There were rumours that a beast resided down there, an abomination that delighted in causing death. Here, dissidents against the throne had been tortured and killed by the Sheikah that had sworn to protect them at any cost - and here was another entrance, beneath the house that the closest thing she had to a mother owned.

All this death for the sake of her family... as Sheik started down the aged ladder, she continued after him, pulling the hatch back over them.

Beneath, it was very, very dark.

Zelda's boots squelched as she landed with a wince, and she was almost reluctant to conjure up a little ball of light to see by - she wasn't entirely sure she _wanted_ to see anything. But it would not do to go stumbling around in the dark - and if they were about to stumble across some many-limbed, blood-splattered abomination, she wanted as much warning as possible. "Are you alright?" Sheik murmured, the pupils of his eyes almost obscuring the red, already adapted to the dark.

Nodding cautiously, Zelda exhaled and started off behind Sheik, following him down the long slope. It was still slippery underfoot, damp with water and mud, and by the time her boots touched solid stone, she was mud-splattered up to her knees.

"Which way?" she whispered to Sheik, who was scanning the area - a central area in a broad square, with alcoves and dips, paths and crawlspaces, extending off it. There was a rush, like multiple voices whispering at once, and Zelda shrank back as a skull enclosed in green flame rushed by, patrolling its eternal route.

"There's a Triforce mark somewhere around here," Sheik murmured back, drawing the short blade he carried. "I believe it will allow access to a room on the other side, and that is where we need to go."

Zelda nodded, shrugging the bow off and selecting a few arrows. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared...

The next time the skull in green tore by, a few arrows took care of it nicely. Zelda exhaled in relief, then hurried to catch up with Sheik - from the looks of the floors and walls, she did not want to be on her own here.

"Here?" she whispered as they stopped before a hideous engraving, water pouring from its mouth. Sheik nodded, handing over his blade to her and drawing out the lyre.

Here, in a place made of nightmares, her lullaby seemed almost perverse. It was an undeniable reminder of the connection her family had had with this place - here, people had suffered and died in her family's name. When she exhaled, her breath came out unsteadily.

"There," Sheik nodded as the flow of water slowed and stopped, tucking the lyre away and retrieving his blade. "Impa said that the water was covering a hole - we will have to crawl."

Zelda grimaced a little, but nodded nonetheless. Perhaps it would wash the mud off...

The crawlspace, as it turned out, was all the way on the other side of the room. Zelda clambered down the mesh carefully, even as Sheik simply jumped down, landing with the grace of a cat. Beneath, at least, it was drier - with her bow held awkwardly in one hand, Zelda inched through it carefully, watching Sheik's shuffling progress ahead.

(But not too closely. They were close friends, but some things went beyond friendship.)

The room ahead held a Skulltula, already dying at Sheik's feet by the time Zelda wriggled out of the crawlspace. She flashed him a grateful smile, then started up the mesh - there was an awful lot of climbing in this place, she was beginning to notice, and her choice of carrying a bow seemed... ill-advised.

"Ready?" Sheik asked as they approached the door ahead.

"For what?"

Sheik smiled briefly. "Exactly."

When Zelda stepped into the room, she found herself disoriented - the light she held had flickered out, and it was dark, bits of wood splintering beneath her tentative footsteps. It was only when her eyes adjusted that she noticed that the wood was white - and, in places, round, with dark eyes staring at her from above grins frozen in a rictus.

Skulls and bones, lining the floors and walls and ceilings. Zelda jumped back with a shriek - and immediately found herself caught by something, sharp pinpricks pressing into her hair.

"Sheik!" she shouted urgently, then drew in her breath sharply - something was bursting from the ground, sending bone fragments flying. A misshapen white blob, stained in blood, was making its way over - and it was lowering its head to face her.

Until, of course, Sheik stepped in and slashed directly across the horribly grinning face.

Whatever had caught her hair retreated, as did the blob, and Zelda leaped away. It had been a hand, she noted with some dread, attached to a long white arm. Its fingernails, absurdly, appeared to be painted red - until she noted that it was brown and flaking, and, more than anything, likely to be dried blood.

"What is it?" she hissed, drawing her bow and shooting at one of the hands. It reeled, the arrow thrust through the palm, but did not retreat.

"Dead Hand," he said grimly, twisting away as one of the hands snatched at him as well. "When the hands grab something, the body emerges. Get ready to fight when it does."

The Hero really should have been down here instead, the rather unhappy part of Zelda's mind complained. The rest was too busy focusing - shooting arrows into the hands to drive them off, shooting arrows into the body when it got a rare grab of her or Sheik, attempting to wriggle free from its grasp without losing her entire head of hair. Finally, though, the disgusting thing keeled over, almost deflating in a messy puddle.

"There," Sheik instructed, brushing his mussed hair roughly back into place. "There's a chest."

Zelda nodded, glancing around cautiously before hurrying over to it. Inside, the lens awaited, and she lifted it from the wood reverentially.

"This will let the Hero see like a Sheikah, won't it?" she murmured. And then she lifted it to her eye, peering through the red glass curiously.

It looked little different. Zelda lowered it again with a soft sigh. "There aren't many illusions in this room," Sheik told her with a quick smile, then reached out to take it. "We'll secure it in the house. When I bring Link here tomorrow morning, we'll come by and pick it up."

Zelda nodded, letting out a little sigh. "Make sure he does, alright?" she asked softly, following Sheik back out.

It was little trouble to leave the place, now that they had what they were after. Zelda started her way up the long slope with a heart that felt slightly lighter, yet she still felt wary - this was a place that marked dark deeds for her family, and she would not forget it in a hurry.

The change of clothing she had placed in Impa's house beforehand was still there. Zelda changed swiftly, Sheik's back politely turned, then did the same for him. And then she shrouded herself in the cloak again, giving him a quick smile.

"Do you want me to escort you back?" he murmured, and she shook her head.

"It's dark enough. May I have an illusion?" He nodded, and the world rippled. Glancing down at herself, she saw shadow and smiled in satisfaction. "Thank you."

Sheik dipped his head to her, reaching out to give her shoulder a squeeze. "Stay safe. I'll be in touch once Link has cleared the temple."

A sad smile crossed her face, and she lifted a hand to his. "Please make sure he does, alright?" she said softly, "It's been a long enough time already."

They could not afford any more delays. The Hero may have been ill - although she was starting to wonder just how ill he had been - but Impa's life was on the line, now. And the stakes had become significantly larger.

"I will," he murmured, and Zelda set off again, feeling Sheik's eyes on her all the way.

 

The stomach cramps had started shortly after breakfast.

Halfway through straightening up the bed covers, Link doubled over, knees buckling as a cramp took him without warning. The onset had been sudden and violent, and as he squeezed his eyes shut and gasped in a breath, he recalled Sheik's words.

_For the best chance of success, you must be genuinely ill._

Well, he felt genuinely ill now, and it was only by sheer force of will that he managed to stagger to the bathroom in time for his breakfast to re-emerge. Only an hour, Sheik had said - but this was only the first minute.

It was going to be a long morning.

Fifteen minutes later, he was back in the infirmary, clutching his midsection as the healer examined him. "Just a bug," he proclaimed, clapping Link on the shoulder (then hastily retrieving his hand when Link unfurled enough to grab the bowl again). "You'll be fine tomorrow. Until then, rest!"

From the side of the room, Sheik lifted his head. "I will tend to him," he volunteered, his voice verging on gentle - the perfect act of someone concerned for their friend. "I'm sure you have other things to do, sir."

"Well..." The healer, who had gained the title only by virtue of being the only one nearby who knew the slightest hint of first aid, gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I suppose I _could_ catch up on my research..."

"It's decided, then." Through his haze of misery, Link was vaguely aware of Sheik approaching the bed, carefully slipping an arm around him and pulling him upright. "We'll take the private room, thank you."

Ganondorf, naturally, did not look impressed. "Return him once he has recovered," he told Sheik flatly and wrinkled his sizable nose. "...And please have him bathed."

"Of course, my lord," Sheik murmured and tugged Link off the bed. Link swayed, leaning heavily on the shorter Sheikah, clutching his bowl, and barely managed a shaky smile before Sheik led him away to the private room that Ganondorf reserved for his favourites.

The bed there was a welcome relief. Link collapsed on it, face pressed into the pillow, and moaned.

"It'll pass soon," Sheik told him calmly as he shut the door behind himself. "You heard the doctor - it'll be gone in less than a day."

And then he raised his hand, tracing a pattern in the air. "Or, of course," he added with a chuckle, "In roughly forty minutes, perhaps an hour and a half."

Link glared at him weakly, his sweaty bangs hanging in his face. "You said it wouldn't be that bad," he almost whimpered, clutching the bowl closer.

"No, I said that you could endure it," Sheik corrected. Link let out another groan.

If nothing else, at least it passed relatively quickly. The poison had largely been purged, thanks to Link's stomach emptying itself, and the low fever it produced fading back. Although his stomach muscles still felt cramped and did spasm on occasion, his abdomen a mess of tenderness, the sheer malaise wrapped up in just under an hour.

Now, Sheik made the curious gesture he had made earlier and a little more besides, turning back to Link. "This only lasts for a few minutes, so I will be brief," he told him, speaking a little more quickly than his usual measured pace. "I have created an illusion of you sleeping here for anyone who happens to come by, and the door is locked from the inside. You do not have the ocarina on you, do you?"

Link shook his head, wondering vaguely if this had been an oversight. Indeed, he was in no condition to go temple-diving - he still wore only the loose pants that Ganondorf provided him with.

"Then I will play the song for both of us," Sheik continued. "Last night, before I returned, I collected your belongings and purchased a basic bow, shield, and sword for you, along with a change of clothing. They are waiting for you now in the Shadow Temple, along with the item I retrieved last night. Impa possesses a map of the temple, and that is waiting for you, too. Now, we cannot delay any further."

"Okay." Link pushed himself up, wincing a little at his sore stomach muscles. "How do you play the song for both of us...?"

Lyre suddenly in Sheik's hands, he beckoned Link closer. "Hold on," he said simply, and Link carefully wrapped his arms around Sheik's middle.

"Like this?"

Sheik's breath had caught, he noticed with a hint of amusement. "Yes, like that." And then the Sheikah's eyes closed, hands lifting to the strings.

The song that played was haunting, seemingly chilling the air. Link shivered once, then his arms tightened around Sheik's body - the vaguely familiar sensation of warping had taken them, and all he was aware of was it popping and fizzing against his skin, like being doused in a hot spring.

The place they landed at was definitely not a hot spring.

Link immediately wrapped his arms around himself, biting down on his lip to stop himself from shivering too badly - the fortress was usually kept warm enough that he felt no discomfort walking around in just thin Gerudo pants. Here, though, at the top of the graveyard, in the rain - it was frigid, and his skin was definitely growing chilly.

"Your clothes are inside," Sheik murmured, and Link hurried in gratefully, finding the small bundle near the door. The clothes inside weren't his own, since all but the tunic and hat were currently in Ganondorf's possession, but they were warm and comfortable and easy to move in, and Link garbed himself in them gratefully.

The pants rolled up into a surprisingly small bundle, and he tucked them away in a pouch on the provided belt. The sword was a decent match for the length of the Master Sword, although it felt different in his hand, and the shield was far less worn than his own one. Still, it felt good to be dressed in secure, warm clothing again, to hold a weapon in his hand, and to be able to breathe freely without suspicion of being watched.

The collar, though, would not be removed. Link touched the tips of his fingers to it, frowned, then dropped his hand again.

There was no helping it. It simply had to stay.

With a sigh, Link examined the room. A heavy stone door sat at the far end of the room. White inscriptions covered the floor. Torches abounded, all unlit, surrounding a small central platform. Lighting the torches... hmm.

"Stand back, okay?" he murmured to Sheik, and the Sheikah stepped back obligingly. Scrambling up on the platform, Link drew a breath, silently running over the instructions in his head - then letting out a yell as he slammed his hand down, a ball of fire expanding outwards.

And the door opened up.

With a glance back at Sheik, Link smiled tentatively. "Let's go," he murmured, and pressed on to the Shadow Temple.

 

"That was _horrible_."

Back in the room with the creepy statue (marginally better than the rooms with the creepy paintings, and substantially better than the rooms lined in bones), Link shivered and winced, rubbing at his upper arms, reaching up to tug his fingers through his hair. The new outfit hadn't included a hat and he had yet to tie his hair back, and the feeling of bone-like fingers in his hair...

He shuddered. The Dead Hand was definitely not his favourite things.

"I'm surprised there was another one," Sheik mused from beside him. "There was one guarding the lens as well - perhaps it's an entire species."

Link gave him a look that was partially confused and largely horrified. "There might be _more_ of them?"

"Only if we're unlucky."

Luck, Link regarded glumly, didn't seem to be much on their side to begin with. Only half an hour in, and the temple was already thoroughly giving Link the creeps - between statues that promised to send him plummeting, and paintings of skulls with glowing eyes that spoke of bloody histories of greed and hatred, and walls and floors covered in bones, and whatever that _thing_ had been... he definitely wasn't looking forward to seeing what the rest of the temple had in store.

The Forest Temple had been sad, melancholy, a pervasive loneliness permeating even the walls themselves. The Fire Temple had been a death trap filled with potent reminders that he best not fail, lest the Gorons become dragon food. The Water Temple had been disorienting and perplexing and seemed designed specifically to drive him mad.

The Shadow Temple, as best he could determine, was designed to give him nightmares for the rest of his life.

"I hate this," he murmured and was rewarded with Sheik sliding closer, the warmth of his body seeping through their clothing. Gently, he wrapped an arm around Link's shoulders, and Link dropped his head to Sheik's shoulder.

"It's the burden of a hero," he murmured. "Unpleasant, but necessary. At least you are not alone this time, correct?"

Link smiled tentatively. "Yeah. Thanks for coming with me - I hope we can manage with one lens and one pair of boots."

At that, Sheik chuckled. "We will. The lens is designed to let others see as Sheikah do - I can already see the things you need the lens for. And the boots - well, Hylians are not as agile as Sheikah and cannot generally jump as far."

"Show-off." Link's smile relaxed a little as he shoved gently at Sheik with his shoulder. "I guess we're going across that gap next, right?"

"Mm."

"And... it's just going to get worse from there, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so," Sheik sighed, then tugged Link closer and brushed a kiss across his temple. "But I will be with you. Whatever happens, I will not let you fall."

Link's smile was sad as he let Sheik tug him to his feet. Somehow, he had the feeling he was already too late.

 

Teleportation, Link decided some time that afternoon, was not his favourite mode of transport.

At least it was giving a decent impression of actually being ill, he thought wretchedly as he bent over the bowl again, dressed once more in the thin white pants. And it was entirely possible he was getting a cold - after defeating the monster in the temple, Sheik had left him waiting at the the warp platform while he discarded Link's travel clothing (stained with slime, blood, and other things he definitely didn't want to think too clearly about) and hid his weapons away again.

And then he had returned, bringing the two back directly to the room he was supposedly convalescing in. Link had dropped to his knees, grabbed the bowl, and...

Well. It wouldn't be hard to pretend he really was sick.

And there he had rested, gazing up at the ceiling, talking to Sheik about nothing of any great importance, dozing occasionally with restless dreams. An invalid's dinner of clear broth was provided for him around sunset, and as night fell deeply around the fortress, he finally departed, following Sheik to the public bathing areas.

It felt good to get the muck of the temple off him, and his soreness could be excused by the illness itself. Already, his wounds had been healed with copious doses of potion - no evidence remained of his adventures.

It was an hour before midnight by the time the healer had examined him, and he crept back to Ganondorf's chambers, stealing a quick kiss from Sheik on the way. "Master?" he whispered, peering around the door, "The healer said I could come back."

Ganondorf lifted his head from his book to stare at him, his gold eyes cold. "Come here," he said shortly, and Link took a few steps towards the bed. Was he going to do this now, after believing that Link had spent the day unwell?

It was, he seemed. There was no gentleness or kindness as he reached out to catch Link's wrist, unbalancing him as he climbed up and sending him sprawling across the Gerudo's lap. His grip was iron. Link hid his wince.

"It's been some time, hasn't it?" Ganondorf almost hissed, his pupils contracting as he stared Link down like a wolfos cornering a rabbit, and pressed him face down against the sheets.

It was not going to be a good night.


	9. Shedding Shells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Non-explicit rape by multiple people, 'consent' gained by coercion and threats, coarse language, intoxication.

In the days following the Shadow Temple, Link had taken to drifting.

His world was twisting upside down and inside out. Where he had once been certain, now he found himself second-guessing himself, catching himself staring out into space and wondering what was right.

Ganondorf was still his master, and he still served him willingly and enthusiastically - a warm and pliant body in his bed, hurrying to answer to his every whims outside of it. There were still parts of his life that he could not help but enjoy: the food that delighted his taste buds, the hours spent in the indoor garden, leaning back against the grassy slope as he gazed out the window to the thin sliver of clouds, and, most of all, those rare and precious interludes with Sheik - a persistent comfort.

Yet Sheik was also a persistent cause for confusion and heartache, a potent reminder that this was not his true life, that he was a liar and would soon be a traitor. Sheik was a constant reminder that he was supposed to be the Hero of Time and that this life was an illusion, soon to be destroyed by his own hand.

That morning, he had found himself in the library again - this time, settled at Ganondorf's feet, half hidden beneath a desk, as the Gerudo king wrote messages out on a near-endless strip of paper. His mind was wandering, and he found himself leaning against the side of the desk, gazing out at the rows of books, almost lethargic.

A familiar pair of boots crossed into his field of view. Link lifted his head, mindful of the desk above him, and gave Sheik a quick smile as he approached.

"The names you requested, my lord," Sheik announced as he handed a slip of parchment over, and Ganondorf gave a grunt of acknowledgment.

"Good. I want you to send these invitations out before nightfall," he instructed, and Link glanced up curiously. "Advise the messenger that he is to deliver them promptly - although perhaps the invitation for the Duke of Tolemac can get lost in the mail." A smirk crossed Ganondorf's face.

Sheik nodded, hesitating for a moment. "Invitations for what, my lord?" he asked mildly. Ganondorf set down the latest bit of paper - an invitation, Link knew now - and stretched his shoulders a little.

"A... gathering, I suppose," he mused, "Perhaps I could go so far to call it a party. It pays to be diplomatic with your neighbours - even if your neighbours are idiots."

Sheik's eyebrows rose, but he nodded. "Of course - a wise choice, my lord. Is there anything more you require of me?"

"No, you can go." Ganondorf waved him off, turning back to his desk, and Link raised a hand to give him a wave, trying not to show the uneasiness produced just by seeing Sheik.

The Sheikah gave him a quick smile, the muscles of his cheeks flexing beneath the fabric, and headed off again, while Link settled back against the desk.

If Ganondorf wanted to be diplomatic with the neighbours, then did that mean they couldn't go to the Spirit Temple until then? It would be a bit of a shock, he imagined, to travel to Hyrule for a get-together only to find the Gerudo king dead. Maybe they could talk to Princess Zelda instead...

Or maybe they would take their anger out on her. Link winced - they would have to delay going to the temple, then.

And there was another mixed blessing - it would be time to think things over. Was there time to change his mind? He did not know, and he hadn't dared to bring the subject up with Sheik since the temple.

At least the feeling seemed mutual. Sheik had not asked him about leaving for the desert recently, and their conversations had been utterly innocent. (With, admittedly, some not so innocent kissing, but that was simply a perk.)

Still, he knew it was in the future, waiting for him, the current reprieve from duty only temporary. Link gazed at Ganondorf's leg idly, tracing the shape of the embroidery on the boot coverings with his eyes. When all was said and done, could he kill him?

He pictured the Master Sword in his hands, back in the familiar green, Navi at his back and Sheik at his side, the sword raised over a helpless Ganondorf, and shook his head fiercely.

Attention caught by the movement, Ganondorf glanced down at him. "Sand fly in your ear, pet?" he asked languidly, chuckling at a joke of his own making. "They're certainly big enough."

Link ignored the jibe, ducking his head. "I was just thinking, Master Ganondorf," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Ganondorf laughed again, louder this time, and Link got the distinct impression he was being mocked. "Of course not," he grinned, reaching out to ruffle Link's hair almost affectionately before catching a few strands between his fingers and tugging hard. "I haven't told you what the entertainment will be for the party, have I?"

Considering the first he had heard of a party had just been a few minutes earlier, he had not, and Link shook his head. Musicians? Gerudo dancers, perhaps?

"I," Ganondorf said deliberately, sitting back in his chair, "Am going to offer them one of the finest of my trophies for their nightly entertainment. My friends will, of course, have complete say in how their... entertainment proceeds, naturally - I can only hope my trophy feels the same way about it." A smile crossed his face, and Link was reminded of a wolfos. "The punishment the trophy will receive if it does not comply will be... an unpleasant one, otherwise."

A trophy? Link glanced up uncertainly - Ganondorf had referred to him in such a way before. But entertainment? Music, dancing... something else? He did not like the look on his face.

"What sort of entertainment, Master Ganondorf?" Link almost whispered.

There was a slow-burning ember of dread in the pit of his stomach. He was unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

Ganondorf's eyebrows rose as he stared down at Link incredulously, and he snorted derisively as he turned back to the desk. "You're going to let my new friends fuck you, pet, was I not clear enough?"

The ember had turned into an inferno. Link gazed blankly at the floor, unsure whether he could find the words to speak up, to ask for some other form of entertainment, for leniency for the night, anything. Yes, he went willingly to Ganondorf's bed - but the thought of strangers touching him, pawing at him, doing whatever they wanted to him... the idea was enough that he wanted to gag.

"Well?"

"Yes, Master Ganondorf," Link whispered, his blank gaze fixed on the floor.

Ganondorf had never treated him cruelly. Certainly, what they did in bed caused pain, but that had always been a good pain, a welcome one. Certainly, he had to be at Ganondorf's beck and call, but a part of him craved it, thoroughly enjoyed having a master, someone who could bring order to his life. Certainly, he had been asked to perform tasks that he found unpleasant - but that was simply part of the charade, and he could bring himself to enjoy them sooner or later.

But this... Link closed his eyes, then snapped them open again - the image of multiple hands reaching for him had emerged as soon as the world had disappeared.

"When?" he whispered, and Ganondorf only had to look at him once. "...Master Ganondorf?"

"One week," the Gerudo told him, and turned back to his invitations. "You are free to go."

Link sucked in a breath and exhaled shakily, then nodded, getting to his feet. And he fled, not looking back once.

 

It was Sheik who found him, two hours later, in the garden. Gazing out again at the sliver of sky, he jumped violently when the Sheikah settled down next to him, garnering a curious look.

"Lost in thought?" he murmured, and Link let out a laugh that was half a sob, turning to bury his face against Sheik's shoulder.

And there he stayed, his breathing shuddering and unsteady, clinging to him for security, for support, for friendship. No tears fell, yet he felt absurdly close to them, trembling a little in Sheik's arms and heedless of the soft, confused reassurances being whispered to him.

When he finally lifted his head, it was to face a very concerned Sheikah. "Did something happen?" he asked gently, and Link nodded once, still feeling as fragile as if the merest touch could shatter him like glass, as unbalanced as if the slightest breath could send him tumbling down a precipice.

"The party."

Sheik's brows furrowed. "What about it?"

"He wants me to be the - entertainment," Link whispered, the words heavy on his tongue. Sheik sat back suddenly, frowning, and Link continued, his voice dull. "He wants me to let his friends fuck me. And I like being fucked by _him_ , but I don't want them to -"

His voice cracked, and he shook his head, unable to articulate the churning he felt in his stomach. The idea of being used like that, like he was just a party favour and not Link, Ganondorf's favourite pet...

"I don't want them to do it," he finally forced out, dropping his head to Sheik's shoulder and clinging tight.

Sheik let out a sigh, close enough that he felt it ruffling strands of his hair. "Does he know that?" he asked, and Link shrugged apathetically.

"He said he'd punish me if I didn't," he muttered, then drew away again. People only punished their pets when they were bad, didn't they? And Ganondorf had never treated him unkindly before - he had been rough but never unkind.

Maybe this was for his own good. He wasn't trying to be cruel, he simply wanted to share Link with his friends. And it was true, he didn't want to do it, but he hadn't wanted to do many things before, and he had eventually changed his mind. Hadn't he?

Then maybe this would be the same. Maybe he even thought that Link would enjoy it - maybe that was why he had made the offer. He wouldn't force Link to do anything he didn't want to do, would he?

Would he?

"It'll be fine," he eventually sighed, letting his head fall back against the slope. "I guess it just surprised me, huh? It'll probably be fine."

Only one red eye was visible, but it looked worried. "Fine," Sheik said almost to himself under his breath, then shook his head. "I'm sure. But be careful nonetheless, alright?"

"Alright," Link repeated, then nodded. "I will be. Thanks." Giving Sheik a tentative smile, he settled back, gazing out at the sky again.

Perhaps it would be just fine.

 

For perhaps the fourth time in the last ten minutes, Link shifted on his cushion.

The party had barely started, and already he was feeling uncomfortable - instead of the usual pants, he had been given a flimsy length of cloth, fastened at one hip with a golden belt and hanging freely. Link had found himself hard-pressed to keep his legs covered, and every time he breathed, the cloth shifted to expose one bare leg.

Well - almost bare. He had been adorned, wrapped up like a present - thin gold bracelets jangled on both ankles and both wrists whenever he dared to move, a few rings decorating fingers and toes. The necklaces he had been given glinted coolly against his bare chest, his hair pulled up into a high (but short) ponytail and decorated with more gold and gems, and his usual earrings had been removed for the night, replaced with heavy ones that tugged at his earlobes.

And then, of course, there was the veil - a soft strip of fabric, the same colour and pattern as the cloth around his waist, sat over his mouth and nose.

He sighed, and the cloth rippled outwards.

"Bored?" Ganondorf murmured from beside him - he alone had been granted a low seat, elaborate carvings decorating the wood, plumped up with cushions. The small, circular table he sat at, too, rested on a slight podium - there could be no doubt who was hosting the affair, and each table seemed to gravitate towards him.

Link shook his head, as gently as possible. "I don't know anyone here, Master Ganondorf," he whispered, gaze on the table before them. "I'm sorry."

Ganondorf chuckled, as if he had been told a terribly amusing joke. "Oh, you'll know them well enough eventually."

...Entertainment again. Link winced, gazing fixedly at the table. Couldn't they just get it over and done with?

The first course arrived, the first plate set before Ganondorf before the rest were served - and, finally, Link and the other servants he could spot at the very end. He dug in, mindful of the veil - food, at least, was a good distraction from the unpleasantness he knew laid ahead, and the meal was delicious, at any rate.

If nothing else, if he did go through with what Sheik wanted, he knew he would miss the food the most.

Between the first and second course, there would be some entertainment, and Link watched in apprehension as a few wandering musicians began making the rounds. Was Sheik amongst them? Scanning the room for a familiar blonde head with a lyre, he did not notice the approaching noble until a hand caught his chin, turning his head roughly to face him.

"Ah, lovely, lovely," he sighed, gaze roaming freely down Link's body, ignoring the way Link's eyes widened. "Sir Ganondorf, is this one available?"

Ganondorf's gaze flickered down at them, a smile twitching on his lips at Link's expression. "Of course," he said with a wave of his hand, "Just not right in front of me, yes?"

The noble grinned, and he wrapped a hand around Link's upper arm, brushing a thumb across the cuff there. "Good, good," he murmured and tugged Link to his feet, leading him to the side of the room - there, cushions covered the floors, and voluminous wall hangings provided a modicum of privacy. Guiding Link down to the floor, he settled down himself, reaching for the fastening of his pants.

"I trust you know what to do," he told Link with a grin, reaching up to rest the tips of his fingers against the veil over his mouth. "Now, let's see those pretty little lips of yours..."

Alright, it hadn't been terrible, Link thought resignedly as he stumbled back to his seat, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. There was plenty to drink, at least, and he took a good-sized swig of wine, grimacing at the faint burn but at least relieved to get the taste out of his mouth.

When was the next course going to start? At least a few others were starting to glance in his direction.

The next course was a spicy one he recognised, and he glanced up eagerly when the server came by - only to find himself with a bowl of cold cucumber soup, a small piece of ice bobbing up and down in the middle. The other servants, he noted, had been served the same. At his perplexed look, Ganondorf rested a hand on his shoulder, chuckling.

"It wouldn't do to have spices in your mouth, would it? And I have been told that the coolness is quite pleasant," he told him glibly, and Link blinked at him for a moment before the meaning dawned on him.

Ducking his head, he felt a humiliated flush spread across his cheeks. Even his meals were specifically tailored for his role in 'entertaining'.

For a moment, he considered not eating. Then, with a sigh, he reached for the spoon - they would take what they wanted whether he ate or not.

The course progressed, and Link began to pick up on more and more of what was taking place around him. One of the servants had disappeared - no, there he was, his head in another noble's lap while the latter ate his stew contentedly. Amongst the drapes, he could see movement - two nobles, it seemed, and he glanced away hastily.

The air was growing hazy with smoke and incense. Link felt lightheaded at the scent of it - or had that been the glass and a half of wine he had already gone through?

The second course ended, and this time Link did catch sight of Sheik, locking eyes with him from across the room. Sheik nodded once, and then his gaze shifted to one side - another noble was approaching.

Link did not struggle as he was lead away, head down, expression resigned. Perhaps he could just not think about it, let his mind drift...

By the time the fourth course was announced, Link's mind was far away. He had barely noticed the food, now, and when they came to take him away, he went docilely. Ganondorf chuckled as he (carefully) knelt on his cushion a few minutes after his bowl had been set down, wincing at the feeling of the stuff drying on his skin cracking, and clapped a hand to his shoulder.

"I'd eat while you still can, pet," he advised with a grin, "You seem to be popular tonight."

The last part of the dinner proper finally arrived. Between it and the two dessert courses, there would be a good half hour dedicated to entertainment - music, certainly, and dancers, yes, but also the other entertainment he had become accustomed to. Blankly, he watched as other servants were tugged off in various directions or simply taken where they sat, some making use of the spaces between the tables to put them on display.

When one of the nobles led him out on to the floor to one of those stretches of cushions and blankets, Link exhaled and closed his eyes.

If he didn't think about it, the less he acknowledged his surroundings or the company he was with, the quicker it would be over...

 

It was late by the time events came to an end. Link was exhausted and aching, hugging a cushion to his chest, his jewellery in disarray. He wasn't quite sure what had happened to the cloth, nor the veil that had covered his mouth - someone had tugged it off him, claiming that it was blocking his access, and he had not seen it since. His hair had come undone - he recalled someone twining their fingers through it as they guided the movements of his head. And one of the necklaces had become somewhat tangled with the collar they hadn't quite hidden, and the chain was rasping against his skin.

Still. The rasp of the chain was nothing compared to the bruises and, here and there, scrapes and cuts. Shifting his legs, he found them bloody, and pain shot up his spine.

Link, he decided, hated parties.

And there he had stayed until one of the maids, an older Gerudo woman who served in the fortress that he knew on sight, arrived to clean up the mess. She paused, then gathered up a blanket, draping it over him gently. "Young Link," she murmured, "Would you like some help to the baths?"

Link nodded muzzily, unresisting as she guided him to his feet and out the door.

The baths were a relief. Stripping his jewellery off as best he could, he settled into one of the smaller ones and let out a wordless sound of contentment as it soothed the ache from his muscles, washing the blood and other substances away and staining the water faintly pink.

He was still there when Sheik turned up, settling silently behind Link at the side of the bath, reaching out to brush his hair back. "I'm sorry I could not come sooner," he murmured, bending down to drop a kiss on Link's forehead.

"Glad you're here now," Link whispered, his voice hoarse from earlier, giving him a pained smile. "Can you help me take the bracelets off?"

Sheik nodded, and Link twisted around so he could lay one arm in Sheik's lap. The Sheikah's nimble fingers made quick work of them, and soon he lifted himself from the dirty water, secured in a blanket and in Sheik's arms.

"Is Ganondorf expecting you back tonight?" he asked softly, and Link shook his head.

"He said I was sloppy seconds now." A yawn took him almost by surprise, and he curled up more firmly against Sheik's side. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Sheik didn't answer immediately. "Of course," he eventually sighed, gathering up the damp jewellery. "We will return these in the morning. How well can you walk?"

Shrugging, Link gathered the blanket around himself more firmly and tried to stand, wobbling only a little. At least his legs were cleaner now, although they still felt a bit like jelly. "Can you help me?"

Wordlessly, Sheik wrapped an arm around him, guiding him back down to the staff quarters.

It was rare that Link went down this far. He was allowed but had little reason to do so - nearly all of his encounters with Sheik had taken place in more public areas. Now, his gaze flickered over the rows of beds and bunks, a wide open area covered in bed rolls, a few private rooms set aside. Sheik had one of these, at the furthest end.

It was definitely smaller than Ganondorf's chambers. Link took a few steps inside, glancing around at the almost utilitarian room - a bed (of a decent size for one person, but a tight squeeze for two), a dresser, and a small table and chair were the only items of furniture, the only decorations being a woven rug in patterns that were definitely not Gerudo, and a few scrolls of music on a wooden shelf.

"Make yourself comfortable," Sheik murmured, and Link settled himself on the bed, watching lazily as Sheik set the lyre on the shelf and began stripping out of his uniform, reaching for a nightshirt (and then, on second thoughts, tossing one to Link as well). "How do you feel?"

"Sore - the bad kind," Link admitted, tugging the shirt on and climbing beneath the covers. The mattress wasn't quite as plush as Ganondorf's - but oh, it certainly felt good on his aching limbs. "I bet Master Ganondorf will fix me up tomorrow."

Sheik's eyebrows furrowed. "Even though he is the cause of your pain?"

Link shrugged, already too sleepy to think about such complicated concepts. "He just wanted to - to share me." A wide yawn made his eyes water, and he beckoned drowsily to Sheik.

Sheik moved to join him, first retrieving a bottle of red potion and giving Link a mouthful of it. "Link," he sighed as he set the bottle on the floor, sliding under the sheets beside him, drawing the exhausted Hylian close. "Are you sure you know what you've got yourself into?"

Just what was he getting at? Link stared at Sheik, perplexed, then yawned again. "I don't know," he finally admitted, then let his eyelids slip shut, clinging to Sheik like an oversized toy. "I don't..."

And then he could give no further answer, letting the world of dreams lift him away.


	10. Shell Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Memory of, reference to, and discussion of rape, non-explicit torture.

Where once she had garbed herself to blend in with the shadows, now she dressed to merge with the sand.

Shrouded in tan instead of dark grey, Princess Zelda adjusted the wraps around her wrists and ankles, worn Sheikah style to protect her skin from the blowing sand. Only a little past midnight, the desert was chilly, and the wind threatened to bite the skin from her flesh.

Here, sheltering herself in the cave leading to a fairy fountain, gaze fixed on the nearby warp platform, she felt curiously exposed, vulnerable. Who knew what took place in the Spirit Temple, these days?

When Sheik emerged in a swirl of orange particles, she let her breath out, and another strange night bird called out.

He had joined her within the minute, kicking away a Leever who had attempted to chase him into the cave. They were a common nuisance in the desert, and Zelda had had to move quickly to make it to her slightly rockier shelter - even the short distance between the warp platform and the cave was a minefield of the green creatures. "Are you all right?" he murmured, raising his hand and gesturing to set up an illusion before tugging the cowl down.

"Fine," she said with a quick, tight smile. It faded quickly, though, and she gave Sheik a frown - he looked exhausted. "Are you?"

He shrugged once. "Of course. Ganondorf had a function tonight, and I was playing music." There was a slight faraway expression in his eyes, though, and her frown deepened.

"Does he suspect anything?"

"I do not believe he does. He has still entrusted me with misleading the Hero of Time - and to find the princess." Very faintly, he grinned. "She seems to have hidden herself quite well, hasn't she? I wonder where she could be."

Zelda chuckled, but it lacked humour - she did not like this arrangement that Sheik and Impa had made all those years ago, that Sheik would risk himself in Ganondorf's castle. Even if he didn't suspect him after seven years, she knew that it could not have been an easy task, and she worried for what Sheik had been made to do to prove his loyalty and service.

"Well, she'll be playing her hand sooner than he'd like," she murmured, eyes flickering to the nearby temple. "I want the Hero to awaken the Sage of Spirits as soon as possible. Is he well enough?"

Sheik's lips thinned for an instant. "He is recovering from some minor injuries. Perhaps a day or two - I will give you word when we enter it."

Letting out a soft sigh, Zelda nodded, settling herself down cross-legged against the wall. "It's peculiar," she said softly, "How time travel works. He is to travel back to his childhood to clear the first half of the temple and get the treasure to get to the other part of the temple, and yet the treasure still remains here. There's been no sign that he travelled back at all - well, he hasn't done it yet. But surely there'd be some sign that it happened, in the past? I suppose it's a paradox."

Sheik had gone still, and Zelda caught him mouth the words, "The Master Sword is a ship." Then he shook his head. "It may not be safe to return to the Temple of Time," he advised softly, "The town has been compromised with ReDeads. When you make your way there, it would be best to go in disguise - perhaps as myself. I have gone there in the past." Exhaling, he glanced at the temple as well. "I am small enough to access the areas that would require him to be a child. We will bypass the Temple of Time and come straight here."

Zelda, her gaze fixed on her friend, nodded slowly. "It may be quicker," she said softly. "Then I will make preparations for the end - once the Hero has the Light Arrows, we will bring this sorry era to a close and bring light back to Hyrule."

Had she not been watching closely, she would have missed it entirely - the faintest hint of a frown had crossed Sheik's face, a touch of skepticism and doubt.

He was hiding something, she realised then, something that could jeopardise everything they had worked towards for seven years. What it was, precisely, she did not know - but there had to be some connection between his behaviour and the Hero's absence. He had awakened the sages of the forest, the mountain, and the lake so quickly, in just a matter of days - and then the weeks had stretched on before Impa's ascension. Even now, it had been a little while between that and the temple facing him now.

And he had not gone to the past - or would not in the future. For if he was going to, then they would already know - perhaps it was as simple as Castle Town being compromised; although if that was the case, she wasn't quite sure why Sheik had named the Temple of Time as the place to exchange the arrows.

The Temple of Time would strengthen her as the seven sage, but his reluctance to have the Hero travel back in time concerned her - was there danger in returning to the temple? If so, why would he willingly place her in harm's way?

"What," she asked slowly, "Has the Hero been doing all this time, if I may ask? He covered the first three temples so quickly, and then..."

Sheik did not answer immediately. "He has been ill," he started uncertainly.

"Where has he been recuperating?" she pressed on. "Impa's house would be the best option, but I didn't see him there a few days ago, and the Kokiri say they have not seen an adult either."

"He found a secure location," he murmured, and now he definitely wasn't meeting her gaze.

"Has he been working against Ganondorf all this time? I have not heard any news of the monsters lessening."

"I couldn't say. He is meant to be recovering. I can't tell you anything more."

"How did he fall ill in the first place?"

"Just bad luck, I suppose."

There was something peculiar going on with the Hero, she was certain of it. Zelda felt her muscles slowly tensing, her chest tight.

"Sheik," she said and met his gaze evenly. "Are you hiding something from me? This is an order - tell me if you have misled me in any way."

Hurt flashed across those red eyes, and Zelda almost wavered - she had always seen Sheik as a friend first and a servant only second, and her orders had been almost non-existent in all the years they had known each other.

"Yes," he whispered, gaze on the ground, "But I beg you not to ask me what it is. But please trust me - I have things under control. Hyrule will be safe soon - it just may take a little longer." He did not lift his head, his expression distant and closed-off.

She exhaled. "Something to do with the Hero?" she questioned gently, and he nodded once, wincing.

That was it, then. Sheik had been hiding something from her for all these weeks, a reason for the Hero's non-appearance. But he was still her closest friend - and even if he had lied to her, she still trusted him.

At least, she thought she trusted him.

"Please promise me," she continued softly, "That the Hero of Time will travel to the Spirit Temple as soon as humanely possible, and as soon as the Sage of Spirit has awakened, that he will proceed to the Temple of Time, receive the Light Arrows, and defeat the demon king."

Sheik nodded once, lifting his head to meet her eyes again. "I give you my word," he said evenly, and she smiled sadly.

A Sheikah's word was always truth when addressing those they had been sworn to. If he was willing to give his word that all would proceed according to plan, then it did not matter if he had lied to her before - this would be something he would be bound to do.

"Thank you."

Straightening up, Sheik shifted his shoulders and let out a sigh. "I will be glad when all of this is over," he said softly, watching the moon as it rose to the sky's zenith. "All this hiding and lying - I am sick of serving someone I feel no love for. It will be a relief to finally be able to openly serve those where my true loyalties lie." Catching her eye, he smiled, reaching for her hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

She returned both the smile and the squeeze, swinging his hand a little. "When this is over, will you be my protector?" she asked gently, her gaze on him still. "Now that Impa is gone..."

"Of course," he murmured, glancing out at the moon again. "It would be my honour."

They remained there for a little while longer, a brief moment of respite before going about their separate ways, the calm before the storm. Then, finally, Sheik stood, letting out a sigh.

"I should be returning soon. I will be missed if I am away for too long."

More service? Zelda's expression turned sad, and she nodded, standing as well. "I will remain here," she told him, gesturing to where a few days worth of supplies sat, farther into the fountain. "This is a sacred place - monsters will not approach, and the Great Fairy will protect me if need be. When I see you two enter the temple, I will make preparations to leave for the Temple of Time."

Sheik hesitated for just a moment, glancing back in the direction of the temple, then nodded. "All right. But stay safe, and stay well inside. The monsters may not be able to enter, but the Gerudo are a different story entirely."

With another nod, she reached for the Sheikah, tugging him into a quick hug. "Stay safe as well. Please give the Hero my kindest regards, will you?"

"Of course. I'll let him know when I explain to him the plan when we travel to the temple - about the arrows and the upcoming battle." He quirked a smile at the floor, chuckling. "I have come to know Ganondorf's weaknesses, if nothing else. He will probably welcome the advice."

"I certainly hope so," she smiled as well, reaching up to adjust his cowl. "Good luck."

He raised a hand in farewell, then turned away, the air rippling as he disappeared from sight. Zelda let out her breath, gazing out at the temple for a moment longer before turning to head farther into the fairy fountain.

It widened up ahead, and she could secure herself against one wall and be hidden from sight. Then all she had to do was wait - wait, and see if Sheik's secrets were as dangerous as she feared they were.

 

"My Lord."

Ganondorf lifted his gaze from his book to the sand-dusted Sheikah standing before him, raising a thick eyebrow at his disheveled appearance. The party had long since finished, his visitors making themselves comfortable in the guest suites, and he had expected the boy to succumb to sleep with little delay. "You have something to report?" he asked lazily, setting the book down. "If this is an unnecessary interruption..."

Sheik nodded, and a few grains of sand dislodged from his hair. "I have been keeping my ears open," he murmured, approaching almost cautiously, shoulders set. "And there were some murmurs at the party that bore investigation - I believe I have found information regarding the princess."

That certainly got his attention. Ganondorf straightened up.

Hesitating only to let his breath out, the Sheikah straightened his back. "She appears to have been in the desert recently, seen in the vicinity of the Colossus. It is likely that she will attempt to contact the Hero if he does not make an appearance in the Spirit Temple shortly - with your permission, I would like to take him there myself."

"Another guided tour, huh?" Ganondorf chuckled. "At least sand is easier to clean off the floors than muck from that hellhole your people liked skulking around in. So then we'll have six Sages awakened... if you find the last one, of course." Another laugh - those in the desert had absolute loyalty to him, and those who didn't...

Well, they wouldn't be an issue.

Sheik dipped his head. "I realise that having all six Sages awakened will put you in an uncomfortable position, my Lord," he said softly, "But the payoff, I believe, will be worth it. It is likely that the Princess herself will show herself to the Hero when she believes the time is right."

"And then she'll be mine for the taking." He laughed again, manic glee in his eyes at the thought that maybe, just maybe, he could get his hands on that brat of a girl who had been a thorn in his side for seven years.

Perhaps he could break her like he had broken her precious Hero - the greatest treasure of his collection.

"Go back to your hero, boy," he told Sheik with a smirk as he made himself comfortable, the picture of relaxation. "I'm sure you'll be needing your rest - you have busy times ahead."

And then, he decided as Sheik dismissed himself and retreated, then, finally, everything would be perfect.

 

_"Wider, boy."_

_"Well, don't just lie there, get into it!"_

_"I guess you'll have to do."_

_Grasping hands reaching for him, tightening around his wrists, his ankles, pushing his thighs apart. A hand, knotted tight, in his hair. Fingers, pushing part his lips, threatening to make his gag._

_"Suck them. You know how to do that, don't you?"_

_"Well, he's certainly not keeping you around for your wit."_

_"Young and dumb, just how I like them."_

_Pain, a dull ache up his spine. Bruises rising on the sensitive skin of the insides of his legs. A juxtaposition between soft fabric beneath him and hard hands above him._

_"He's not very good at this, is he?"_

_"Stupid kid."_

_"What good are you for, if you can't even do this?"_

_"What good are you for, anyway?"_

Link started awake, eyes suddenly wide in the darkness of Sheik's room. It took him a moment to calm the frantic beating of his heart, to steady his breathing - he was here, safe in Sheik's bed, the party long over. When his eyes adjusted, he caught a glimpse of movement, revealing itself as Sheik, undressing out of his uniform.

But hadn't he already done that?

"Sheik?" he whispered, reaching out to set one hand on the place where Sheik had been sleeping beside him - it was cold. "Where did you go?"

Sheik paused, halfway through unfastening the wraps around his chest. "I wanted to get some air," he murmured, finishing unwrapping himself before padding over barefoot to the bed. "I was... restless, I suppose, after..."

"After the party," Link finished, his voice dull again. "Do you feel better?"

Making an affirmative noise, the Sheikah reached out, setting a hand on Link's forehead. "I should be asking you that, shouldn't I?" he asked gently, "Did I wake you?"

Had he? Link nodded slowly. "I think so. But I'm glad you did."

Stripping out of the last parts of his uniform, Sheik pulled the nightshirt back on over his head from where it had been slung at the end of the bed. "Why are you glad?"

He shrugged a little, pressing his cheek into the pillow. "I wasn't sleeping really well. Will you come back to bed now?"

Sheik nodded, climbing beneath the covers and immediately finding himself with an armful of hero. Link let out a little sigh and burrowed closer, resting his head against Sheik's warm shoulder. "I hope all the creepy people leave soon."

Glancing up just in time to catch Sheik's wince, Link paused self-consciously. Sheik had been at the party, wasn't he? He probably had seen everything - seen what the nobles did, heard what they had said to him. With a little sigh, he closed his eyes, blocking the Sheikah from view.

"Sheik, am I stupid?" he asked, voice half a whisper.

Sheik blinked. "No - you never had the chance for a formal education, but that doesn't make you unintelligent. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, discomforted. "Someone said I was." And then he let out a sigh, opening his eyes again. "...Lots of people said I was. At the party. They said I wasn't good at - at some things."

Sheik's expression turned tight, his eyebrows creasing. "Well, they can't expect you to be familiar with every technique under the sun," he pointed out calmly, "And aside from that, they only really had one thing on their minds. I don't think they were exactly rational enough to determine whether you're stupid or otherwise."

_What good are you for?_

"I don't know how to do a lot of stuff," he admitted finally, expression downcast. "I can fight, but I hate doing that... I thought I _was_ good at - at, you know, the kind of thing they wanted me to do. I'm not very good -" For much else. "At much else."

"Have you had the opportunity to actually work out what you're good at?" Sheik pointed out, "You have a good ear for music."

Link let out his breath slowly. Perhaps he could do that, one day - play music for people. But even still, he wasn't as good as Sheik - he doubted people would want to listen to him playing tunes on an ocarina, at any rate. It wasn't quite the same as Sheik's lyre; the little blue instrument did not sing at his touch like the lyre did beneath Sheik's fingers.

"I have to get better at it," he decided stubbornly. "At the - things they wanted. Then Master Ganondorf will want to keep me, right?"

Sheik gazed at him for a long, long time. Then he said, "I will not ask for you to go tomorrow, since you could do with a day to recover. But the day after that, I would like for us to go to the Spirit Temple. And, after that, we will end this."

Just one day? Link gazed up at him, caught off guard, then slowly nodded.

He had just one day to decide. He hoped he decided well.

 

They had parted early the next morning, with Sheik proceeding to whatever new duty he had, and Link starting cautiously for the casual dining halls, dressed in a pair of borrowed pants and a slightly too-small tunic. His stomach was growling, the dinner he had had last night fairly sparse.

A few people paused as he entered, a faint dip in the conversation level of the room distinguishable as he picked his way over to one of the tables. Link ignored them, keeping his head down as he reached for a piece of bread and a few pieces of fruit.

It wasn't usual for him to eat down here. Normally, he would eat up in Ganondorf's chambers or start straight for the kitchen to get the food from the source. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this, surrounded by others, some of whom _must_ have been there last night.

He wanted to go back to those chambers. Here, he felt exposed.

The meal had barely been started before he took off again, a piece of fruit in his hand. Between the dining hall and Ganondorf's chambers, he finished it, peering in around the door.

Empty. Ganondorf must have already departed for the day. Letting out a sigh of relief, he stripped off, padding barefoot for the bathroom.

At least the bath was nicer than the public ones, and being alert enough to actually clean himself off properly was a pleasure. And then he sat back with a long sigh, eyes slipping shut.

The night before seemed a little more distant here, clean and content in hot water. Link let himself relax in it until it began to cool, and then he set it to heat again and started the cycle over. Hot water was a luxury, and right now, he needed to feel good.

Because if he stopped focusing on feeling good, he'd begin remembering just how bad the night before had felt.

It was probably fair to say that it hadn't been the best night he had ever had, and his hands ghosted over his own hips, scrubbing absently at the memory of hands digging into his flesh. At the very least, it was over now, and he could only hope that there would be no repeat of events - that the next time Ganondorf hosted a party, he could sit safely on the sidelines, no 'entertainment' necessary.

Ganondorf would let him do that, wouldn't he?

Wouldn't he?

But why would he? The little voice in his head that forever asked questions was not satisfied. What guarantee did he had that there wouldn't be a repeat of events? Ganondorf had asked him once - there was no promise that he wouldn't ask him again.

No, he corrected himself, asking was definitely not the right word. There had been implicit threat in his request, the promise of a rather unpleasant punishment if he did not comply. He had not asked Link whether he had wanted to do it.

And he hadn't wanted to, he recalled with a sigh, until he had convinced himself that it would be fine. Well, it hadn't been, had it? He was sore, his muscles aching, the red potion acting to heal his physical wounds but doing nothing to treat the all-around malaise that had settled upon him like a blanket.

And more than the physical pain was the pain he felt settled in his chest like a leaden weight. He felt ignored, his thoughts and feelings rendered irrelevant. He felt fearful, wary of a repeat of the night. He felt...

Violated. That seemed to be a good word. He felt violated, the hands of strangers ghosting across his skin in memory.

And yet, he had still agreed to it. Didn't that invalidate his argument? He had said yes. Didn't that mean he had no right to complain?

Had Ganondorf acted cruelly towards him in offering him to his friends?

And if his master, whom he still held hope for, was, in fact, cruel - a tyrant towards Hyrule, a villain who needed to be defeated - then did that make what Sheik wanted him to do the right answer?

Eventually, unable to find answers for those questions, Link rose from the bath, drying himself off and dressing in the white Gerudo pants he usually wore around the fortress. And then, on second thoughts, he collected one of the smaller blankets from his bed, wrapping it around his shoulders - warm, certainly, but also a protective shroud against the looks he was sure he was going to get.

The nobles at the party - they had not yet left the fortress, had they?

Starting out the door, Link let his feet take him where they would - the garden, first, toes curling into the thick grass, searching out for the strip of sky he so enjoyed watching. But the day was overcast, and no blue sky could be seen - he would find no comfort there.

The library, perhaps? No. It had been there that Ganondorf had asked - no, ordered - him to attend the party. Link's gaze landed on the desk, and he turned away again.

The portrait gallery, full of ghosts and memories, was an uncomfortable reminder of strange eyes on him. The sparring room reminded him of fights that he could not win. Even the kitchen was a discomfort for him - there were cucumbers lying on the chopping board, and he remembered with distaste the cold cucumber soup so that his mouth would not burn the party's guests.

His feet took him farther on, deeper down, and the plush carpet became bare stone.

Was that Ganondorf's voice ahead? Link's ears pricked up, and silently, he stole closer.

"- do not particularly care what state he is in, just so long as we find out where the princess is."

A hissed reply - Link took another step closer. The door was very slightly ajar - if he was careful, he could perhaps see what was going on. Did someone in there know where Princess Zelda was?

Ganondorf laughed at whatever the reply had been, and the sound of a heavy hand on flesh ran through the air. "No, I believe it is us who will be asking the questions. Sheik, you have permission to do what you will."

Sheik? Link wavered for a moment, then peered inside the room carefully.

There was a man there, his back to the door, tied to a rough wooden chair with ropes that seemed painfully tight. Ganondorf waited nearby, partially obscuring his view - but then, there was Sheik behind him, a thin silver needle twirling in his fingers.

"My pleasure," he murmured, reaching out to set a mock-gentle hand on the man's face. And then the needle disappeared, a howl of agony echoing down the stone walls.

Link jerked back.

"You have been seen with the princess," Sheik told him evenly, and another flash of silver emerged at his fingertips. "What assistance have you given the girl?"

"Fuck you!"

"Ah," Sheik answered, and there was no hint of concern in his voice. "I was under the impression that you wanted to _keep_ your eye."

There was another scream, and Link did not wait to hear any more. Sheik was hurting someone, Sheik was hurting someone who knew where Princess Zelda was, he _served_ Princess Zelda and yet he was hurting someone who was on his side, Sheik had caused him pain, Sheik was trying to blind him...

Not caring if they heard the slap of bare feet against stone, not caring that his heart was beating so quickly against his ribcage that it thundered in his ears - Link turned, and ran, and did not look back.


	11. A Word In Your Shell-Like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied sex of dubious consent, minor character death, discussion of torture.

After all he had seen, Link had no particular desire to see Sheik again. The day became one of constant movement and concealment - even the barest hint of the Sheikah would send him in the other direction.

By evening, when Ganondorf had retreated to his chambers and locked the door, Link could be found on his bed, holed up with a book he had taken from the library to read in solitude. The overcast skies brought no pleasure right now, and he had turned his back resolutely to the door to the dining room.

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow when he saw him, a faint grin twitching on his face when he spotted the book Link was reading - a book meant for Gerudo children, explaining the flora and fauna of the desert. "Brushing up on your desert knowledge, pet?" he asked dryly, and Link started a little, bowing his head.

"No, Master Ganondorf, it was just -" The back of his neck burned. _Stupid kid._ "It - didn't have a lot of really big words, I'm not very good at..."

Embarrassed, he trailed off, dropping the book. In truth, part of it was potential research for the desert - although the idea of going anywhere with Sheik filled him with dread right now. But it was true - the children's books were definitely more at his level.

_Stupid kid._

"I see," the Gerudo drawled, then took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Come here, pet."

Link went willingly, his movements just a little more careful than usual. This, at least, he was used to - being pulled towards the bed, bigger hands on his body. Still, he was troubled - the troubling thoughts he had had in the bath made those hands seem a little less inviting, just a bit less friendly. He did not step away from the touch, but there was some reluctance behind his movements - an unwillingness to lose control.

"Well, you don't seem too badly damaged," he observed, hooking a thumb through the waistband of Link's pants and using them to tug him closer. "Have you eaten today?"

Link nodded once - one of the servants had brought him a dinner for one an hour earlier. "Yes, Master Ganondorf."

"Excellent. I hope you kept room for dessert."

Then there'd be no escape from this. Link let out a soft sigh, then closed his eyes and nodded.

If tomorrow they were to truly end this, then he could handle this one last night.

 

The early hours of the next morning found Link alone.

Ganondorf tended to be an early riser, and it was not uncommon for Link to stir only to find himself on his lonesome. Yawning, he snuggled further into the big bed, the blankets almost over his head, reluctant to rise.

Even half asleep, he knew what the day would bring.

Eventually, he dragged himself from beneath the blankets and made for the bathroom, scrubbing himself as best he could. Almost like there were two of him, a debate warred in his head - was he afraid of leaving for the Spirit Temple with Sheik, or was he willing to take it on? Was that relief that he would no longer have to be touched by Ganondorf ever again or a perverse sense of disappointment?

He knew he would miss parts of it. Surrendering control, handing his life to another, submitting - those were things that were a part of him down to his very soul. It was something Ganondorf had given him. It was something he did not know he could find again.

One way or another, he had to decide on something.

Well, perhaps he could play it by ear. With a sigh, he dried himself off and dressed again, gathering the ocarina and starting out for the garden.

On the other side of the door, Sheik had been waiting for him.

Both stopped short, and the Sheikah nodded once. "You brought the ocarina? Good," he murmured, catching Link's free hand and tugging him into the first empty room (the banquet hall, as it turned out - Link blanched at the sudden memories of hands on his body, turning away).

Sheik gave him a moment, still holding on to his hand. "We should depart immediately," he told him, voice low. "I have already packed supplies for you there. Once you arrive, though, run straight for the temple - if there is wind, you will not be protected in your current - ah, attire."

"Sheik -" Link started, then shook his head, forcing the wariness from his face. "Sorry. Never mind."

Smiling tightly, Sheik raised a hand and gestured, and the world rippled a little in illusion. "So our departure is not noted. Please hold on." Letting go of Link's hand, he withdrew the lyre.

The Requiem of Spirit was, at least, a little nicer than the Nocturne of Shadow, yet it left him feeling profoundly sad. Here was a song and a place that felt dead, and for a moment, Link wondered if what Ganondorf had told him had some merit to it.

Perhaps he had had no choice but to take drastic measures.

Racing for the entrance of the temple as soon as it was in sight, Link leaned against the wall with a sigh, barely catching Sheik raising a hand as he hurried in behind him. Just inside, past a couple of mildly homicidal pots, a bundle awaited - the weapons he had used during the last temple, a pair of sturdy boots, a belt, plain white pants and an undershirt - and his own tunic and hat. Smiling faintly, he dressed himself, searching for a cord to tie his hair back.

It was starting to get a bit long, he observed idly as he knotted it and slipped the familiar hat on.

Beneath the clothing had been another bundle, cloth-wrapped and heavy. "What are these?" he asked as he unwrapped them, revealing them as a pair of leather gauntlets - but with overlapping silver plates fastened to the back, a large red gem in the centre of each.

"Silver Gauntlets," Sheik explained, reaching for one and for Link's hand. "I came here yesterday to collect them - originally, you were intended to use the Master Sword to return to your childhood and to crawl through there -" He gestured back to a tiny gap, a tight squeeze for him but easier for a child, on one side of the mezzanine - "And retrieve them. As that was not an option, I got them for you."

"Oh," Link frowned, waiting patiently as Sheik tightened the buckles. "Thanks - it wasn't hard, was it?"

One hand done, Sheik started on the other, shrugging a little. "A few monsters and some climbing. Nothing I could not take care of. Right - move that block out of the way."

Link gawked - the block in question was huge, solid granite, at least four times his height, and probably outweighed him by more than he wanted to really think about. "What?" he repeated, dumbfounded, and Sheik raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the gauntlets.

"You mentioned a bracelet that the Gorons gave you that allowed you to become stronger, didn't you?" he pointed out, "This works on much the same principle."

He gave it another dubious look. "If you say so," he murmured and set his shoulder to it.

Much to his surprise, it slid away with little to no effort. Farther and farther he pushed it - and then, with a solid thump that almost sent Link head over heels, it dropped away, opening up the way to the rest of the temple.

If all went according to Sheik's plan, the next time he saw Ganondorf would be to kill him.

Link set his jaw and pressed on.

 

The Iron Knuckle had been an unpleasant surprise. For now, Link was taking a moment to relax, his hard-earned shield in his lap, eyes closed in the sun.

"- won't deflect things like Octorok projectiles, however, so you will have to keep your Hylian shield nearby," Sheik was explaining, and Link let out a non-committal hum.

He still wasn't quite sure how to react around Sheik, if he was honest with himself. The things he had seen yesterday... his behaviour in the battle just a few minutes past, staring intently at the Iron Knuckle and doing little but tossing Deku nuts in its path to stun it for a few valuable seconds. It was a painful reminder that Sheik, perhaps, still had his own secrets, his own reasons why he could not be trusted completely.

Sheik had fallen silent at Link's lack of responses, watching him curiously. "It'll all be over soon," he said suddenly, propping up his chin on one hand. "I have conferred with the princess - once the Sage of Spirit has been awakened, you will proceed to the Temple of Time to meet with her. She will be disguising herself as - ah, as me, I believe."

His gaze drifted down to the cliff walls, then he shook his head. "Once you have the Light Arrows, I will transport you to the fortress. We will reclaim the Master Sword and take him unawares. The Sages will lend you their strength for the coming battle - but they have full confidence you can do it."

To anyone else, that would have been reassuring. Link simply looked glum. "I guess."

Sheik's gaze flickered towards him. "Do you still have doubts about your ability to defeat him?"

"Yeah," Link eventually admitted. Could he raise his blade to someone who had cared for him like that? He still wore his collar. "It's - I'm not sure I can do it. I _like_ that life, I get good food and a warm bed and things to do and -"

He shook his head, drawing his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around then. "I don't know what I'll do afterwards," he whispered and closed his eyes. "Where am I supposed to go? I like being looked after - what if he _can_ change?"

"What if he has another party?" Sheik said simply, and Link flinched. "What if he continues to force you to do things you don't want, things that are too painful even for you? Do you really think he will take your opinion into consideration?"

_The punishment the trophy will receive if it does not comply will be... an unpleasant one._

Link exhaled and shook his head once. No, he really wouldn't.

"Link," Sheik said patiently, "What happens if he decides that he doesn't want you? You are not the first trophy he's had. What will you do if he discards you?"

"I -" Link started, then winced. He had mentioned other trophies, hadn't he? "What happened to them?"

Sheik gestured back in the direction of the entrance of the desert. "Some, mostly Gerudo women, were released back to the valley. The men were generally given to them for them to do as they pleased. Some were imprisoned - they knew too much about Ganondorf to be allowed to be set free. Some were killed. Link, what guarantee do you have that he will not kill you?"

Link let out a soft sound, distress and uncertainty mixed into one. Ganondorf had been kind to him. He _had_. And yet he had also forced him into things he did not want to do, heedless of Link's own feelings. He had forced him to serve at the party. He had laughed when Link had told him he didn't want to.

What if he did kill him?

"I don't _know_ ," he whispered, and fell silent.

For a scarce handful of minutes, the only sound was the howl of the wind - it was well and truly day by now, and the sun overhead bore down on them both. Wordlessly, Sheik offered Link his hand.

Link winced to himself, then pushed himself up, fixing the shield on one arm. "I guess we better go, huh?" he said reluctantly, head down as he started back for the Spirit Temple.

But still, Sheik's question did not leave him.

What guarantee _did_ he have?

 

The remainder of the temple was a silent, solemn affair. Link felt little inclined to speak to Sheik, his words and the things he had done the day before heavy on Link's mind. Also weighing him down was the dilemma he would have to find an answer for so soon, so suddenly - would he continue on this path to awaken the Sage of Spirit, to defeat the man who had treated him kindly, who had given him what he wanted and what he needed?

Or would he turn his back on being the Hero of Time, return to Ganondorf's side, and simply, silently endure any further indignities he felt so inclined to inflict upon him?

What if Sheik was right, and he _did_ kill him?

He would have to decide soon. Already, the key was in his hand.

Right - another sun face symbol, another beam of sunlight. Hoping that it wouldn't summon another Wallmaster, Link aimed the shield at the sun face, then staggered as the floor began to drop away beneath him. "You could have waited," Sheik told him dryly, calling down from the edge of what was now a substantial hole in the floor, jumping down the last few metres to join Link on the platform.

"Sorry," Link told him sheepishly, gazing around at their new vantage point. Now, they were eye to eye with the statue, the snake head looming over the woman's face like a giant hood.

They were still standing within sunlight. Maybe they could...

There. Almost by accident, he had aimed the shield at the woman's face - and a chunk of stone had crumbled away. With a glance back at Sheik, Link continued aiming - the stone cracked, dust drifting down, and then simply gave way, revealing metal grating.

And, behind it, a door with a golden lock.

"I guess I can longshot that, huh?" Link asked blankly, and Sheik's only answer was to wrap his arms around Link's waist. Link winced, then aimed the longshot at it and held on tight as it dragged him across.

The grate rose. The door beckoned. And Link drew in a breath and slid in the key.

They were not alone as they entered the room - but, knowing what the lock and key generally signified, Link could not bring himself to be completely surprised. Drawing his sword and the Mirror Shield, he set his jaw and took a step towards the two old women standing there, trying not to jump as one of them shrieked out in laughter.

"Looks like someone is here, Koume!" she cackled, and the other, presumably Koume, turned.

"Looks like it, Kotake!"

And then they rose up in the air, settled on brooms. Link watched them warily - witches?

"What a pair of outrageous fellows they are, to intrude so boldly into our temple!"

"We should teach these outrageous fellows a lesson!"

And that was when Link spotted the Iron Knuckle.

Glancing back at Sheik as it rose to its feet and snapped its fingers for its ax, Link swallowed. "Ready?" he murmured, and Sheik nodded.

"Ready."

But Sheik wasn't fighting much, leaving Link to grit his teeth and go in with double his usual strength. Iron Knuckles, he had learnt from their earlier fight, were formidable and aggressive foes, and he could not afford to let up.

Ducking a blow that would have otherwise taken his head off, his movements starting to slow and his muscles burning at the exertion from the battle, Link let out a yell as he thrust the sword forward - then stumbled back as the blade hit air. The helmet slipped off. The armour crumbled. And a Gerudo girl, her eyes wide and blank, dropped to the floor.

She let out a pained groan. "Where am I...?" she whispered, sucking in a sudden pained breath. And Link noticed with dawning dread that her white clothes were not exclusively white any more - here and there, decorating her skin in long red strips, blood was welling.

Blood that he had drawn?

Link's sword dropped from his hand as he hurried to help support her. "You're in the Spirit Temple," he told her urgently, "Are you okay? I didn't know -"

He had been attacking a person, not a monster. A girl.

"Well, well!" came a familiar laugh, and both he and the Gerudo girl jerked back. "Looks like she's back to normal, Koume."

"She's just a little girl," Koume observed, "But she commands a lot of respect among the Gerudo, Kotake."

Kotake laughed. "Maybe we should make her work for the Great Ganondorf for a little while longer!"

"Then we should brainwash her again!" Koume let out a cackle and raised her hand high.

" _No!_ " the girl screamed and sprinted for the door - before Link could even react, twin orbs of light propelled from their hands.

She disappeared screaming, and Link caught his breath, eyes wide.

The witches disappeared. And Link rounded on Sheik, who was looking on with mild shock on his face. "They didn't brainwash her that time," he said softly, gazing hard at the spot where she had disappeared. "Nabooru, the second-in-command of the Gerudo. She was too headstrong and too strongly opposed to Ganondorf's ideals. They couldn't permit her to influence others. Not even brainwashing would be enough - she would have to stay still for it."

Link's forehead creased, and then, slowly, surely, it began to dawn on him. She had been running, not staying still, so she could not have been brainwashed... and yet they had silenced her. "They killed her?" he asked, voice small, sinking to his knees.

He had attacked her. He had broken the brainwashing, and thus had prompted Koume and Kotake to take further action - hadn't that meant that he, now, was responsible for her death?

"This is because of Ganondorf," Sheik explained, closing his eyes. "Those witches - they raised him, and they work for and with him. It was on his orders that Gerudo who rebelled against him would be enslaved in Iron Knuckle armour. They would have killed her on his implicit orders."

"But he wanted to help his people," Link repeated numbly. He could not look away from the spot where she had disappeared. "Why would he...?"

"Because that's what he does."

Link bit down on his lip.

"That's what he does, Link," Sheik continued, almost gently. "He forces opponents into slavery. He captures those who say any harsh word against him. He has them tortured - not just for information but simply for his own satisfaction. He's treated you kindly, but you've only seen the kind side of him - the other part is sadistic and cruel."

And Link jerked away, grabbing the sword off the ground and thrusting it in Sheik's direction, his hand shaking. " _You_ torture people!" he accused, his voice rising to a shout almost unknowingly. "You're the one who hurts them, not him!"

Sheik gazed at him for a moment, then dropped his gaze and began laughing. "Let me guess," he almost choked, gasping to drag air into his lungs, "You saw, yesterday."

"I saw you hurting that man because he had talked to the Princess!" Link confirmed, voice still raised, sword hand trembling in a combination of sudden anger and sudden terror. "You can't say Ganondorf is bad, you're bad too!"

To his surprise, Sheik did not answer back, laughter dying in his throat. Instead, he merely nodded, just once. "If I had not interrogated him," he said softly, "Someone else would have - and they might have asked the questions that would lead them to her. If I did not do as Ganondorf ordered, I would be exposed as a traitor to him. If I did not follow his every word, I would have been tortured myself. And unlike him, I _do_ know where the Princess is. I do not know if I would be able to resist it."

He exhaled, gaze downcast. "If the Princess is captured, Ganondorf will kill her. And then Hyrule will never be safe again. For the good of Hyrule and all of the people in it, I have had to commit the most heinous of atrocities - and believe me, I know they are atrocities." He smiled, small and sad and resigned. "I understand if you hate and fear me, but know that you cannot hate and fear me any more than I do myself."

Link did not respond immediately, gaze fixed on Sheik's crown of golden hair, spilling out from the bandages. There was pain on his face, and guilt, and Link bit down on his lip - it was entirely possible that, yes, he had had no choice but to hurt others to protect the princess.

"You had to?" he asked softly, and Sheik nodded once.

"That's what he does," he repeated, voice a whisper. "He forces some of us to give pleasure - whether you want to or not - and others to inflict pain. Do you understand now? Can you see how little he cares about any of us?"

They were much alike, weren't they? Link's gaze was unfocused, barely seeing Sheik before him - they had both found themselves in Ganondorf's service for their own reasons.

And they had both been forced into lives they had not wanted to live.

Sheik had been forced to hurt people just as much as he had been forced to pleasure them at that party. Their choices had been their downfall.

Did he understand?

Link nodded once and tentatively crossed the floor, extending a hand to Sheik. Slowly, Sheik accepted it, giving him a pained smile.

"Nabooru is probably the Sage of Spirit," he explained softly, "And her soul will not be able to awaken until we've defeated her killers. Are you ready?"

Link nodded once and readied the shield.

"I'm ready," he said, heart in his throat but his mind calm, and reached for the door.

 

"Now what?" Link called back to Sheik as they hurried for the entrance of the temple.

"The Temple of Time," Sheik said shortly, "We will have to warp there. Remember, Princess Zelda will be disguised as myself, and so I will be forced to conceal my presence - but I _will_ be close at hand."

Link nodded, pausing only to sheath the sword again. "And then she'll give me the arrows, and we'll go back to the fortress, right?"

"Right." Sheik gave him a sidelong glance, sidestepping a blast from a Beamos. "Do you feel prepared for it?"

He grimaced. "I guess I have to be, huh?" Looking at Sheik, Link's stomach clenched with the memory of past horrors. But the sick fear that curdled in his stomach at the sight of the Sheikah had transformed into a profound sadness, which settled on him like a heavy shroud at the thought of what Sheik had been forced to do. Amidst the darkness that surrounded them, one bright spot shone in his mind - knowing that Sheik was still a friend, and ally, someone important to him. "Sheik?"

"Mm?"

Nearing the entrance now, Link slowed, catching his hand. "Thanks," he murmured, "And I promise I'll never let him hurt either of us again, okay?"

Carefully, cautiously, he leaned in for a kiss, and Sheik smiled against his lips. "Thank you," the Sheikah murmured back, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Let's go."

Out in the open air once more, Link exhaled slowly and evenly, holding on to Sheik's hand as he gestured for an illusion. And then, very suddenly, the hand he was holding was no longer visible, solid and warm but utterly transparent. "I'm still here," Sheik murmured from near his ear, "But I need my hand to play. I'll be right there, I promise."

Link nodded once, his expression a little forlorn as Sheik's hand slipped from his. But the sound of the lyre was a comfort, and he found the faintest of smiles on his face as the music whisked him away.

At the temple, 'Sheik' stood waiting for him. Link patiently bore the legend, his breath stolen away as the Triforce mark on his hand tingled beneath his skin, watching wide-eyed as Princess Zelda revealed herself. When the Light Arrows appeared before him, he reached for them, and a prickle of heat raced up his arms as he lifted a hand to them.

And then the world turned the colour of diluted blood, nearly all sound blocked out but for that of his cruel, mocking laughter, the terrified cry of the Princess as twin crystals encased them both and rose in the air, and then Sheik was emerging from the shadows, a cruel smile on his lips and his hand raised in a mocking wave as he watched them ascend into the hands of his master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, 'a word in your shell-like' is a rather purple way to say 'a word in your ear', ie. telling you something. Which is precisely what happens with all the discussions and the like between Link and Sheik here.


	12. A Crushed Snail Shell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Rape, emotional torture, absolute despondency, violence, coarse language.

Link barely had time to register the throne room before he was thrown to his knees, the crystal dissolving upon contact with the floor. The Princess, still in her own crystal, had found herself suspended above the great organ - but he had tumbled over onto the carpet, staring blankly for a moment at a pair of familiar boots.

And then he jerked backwards, recognising the boots with a sudden lurch of his stomach. Ganondorf, smirking down at him, chuckled once.

"So the good little pet comes back home," he murmured, reaching down to jerk Link's chin up. "But you haven't been so good, have you?"

Link did not answer, staring blankly at the at the floor. He had been so close - they had almost succeeded...

"Of course," Ganondorf continued lightly, "I did not have to do this alone. I knew that if I let you awaken those pitiful Sages, the Princess would come out from her hiding place... I simply had to give you the right push to do so."

The right push? Had he meant the party? Link bit his lip. "What do you mean?"

"A guide," he told Link with a faint smile. "Someone to nudge you onwards. Someone to lead you through each temple..." And his gaze shifted, landing lightly on Sheik, waiting almost casually by the wall.

It was like a lump of ice had dropped into Link's stomach. He lifted his head uncertainly, gazing up at the Sheikah he had thought was a friend, his lover. Sheik looked utterly unbothered, even giving Link a lazy smile when he caught his eye. "Sheik?" he whispered uncertainly.

"It's true," he said apologetically, "Lord Ganondorf has always been stronger. And, well..." He shrugged. "The Royal Family _has_ mistreated my people before..."

"Sheik..." The whisper was a faint one, but Link snapped his head up to the source - Princess Zelda, looking stricken, one hand against the side of her crystal prison.

Sheik shrugged again. "My apologies, Princess, Link. I misled you. I made you believe that I was on your side, and yet..." The faintest of smiles crossed his face. "It did work, didn't it? You're here."

And Link's gaze dropped to the floor again. He could not bring himself to raise his head, could not make himself face Sheik.

All this time, he had served Ganondorf. Every kind word, every affectionate gesture - it had been a lie. Every promise that he was on Link's side - it had been false. Sheik had told him that he was going to lie to Ganondorf, to pretend that he had sworn his fealty to him in order to buy Link some time - but it had been Link he had been lying to.

And what of the Princess? He chanced a glance up and found her head down, hair hanging in her face, shoulders trembling faintly. She, too, had been misled.

She had been lied to as well.

"Why?" he whispered, almost voiceless, his chest aching with the hurt of it all. "Sheik, I thought..."

"That I was on your side?" Again, he gave him a small apologetic smile. "I apologise. The duties of a Sheikah tend to be unpleasant ones. 'All this hiding and lying - I am sick of serving someone I feel no love for. It will be a relief to finally be able to openly serve those with whom my true loyalties lie.' You only assumed I spoke of you as possessing my true loyalties, Princess. Lord Ganondorf, may I take my leave and get myself cleaned up? I have sand in uncomfortable places."

Ganondorf, chuckling a little at the pain on Link's face, glanced across at the Sheikah and nodded. "Goddesses forbid," he said dryly. "Do go on."

With a low bow to Ganondorf and an almost mocking little wave at Link and Zelda, Sheik departed, leaving Link on the floor before the Gerudo king.

Sheik had been a traitor after all. Sheik had betrayed him. Every promise he had made, he had broken.

Link's throat felt tight, his chest aching like it was being squeezed by an immense hand. His breathing hitched, his eyes burnt - Sheik's betrayal, more than anything, brought _pain_.

And so he was unresisting as Ganondorf reached out, lifting his chin with one hand.

"Do you know what your champion was doing all this time, Princess?" Ganondorf started, and the words cut through the haze of misery that had begun to overwhelm Link. She hadn't known - he knew that Sheik had no intention of telling her, and from the lost look on her face, he knew that that, at least, had been one promise he had kept. She looked caught off guard, uncertain - there was undeniable curiosity on her face, and Link shook his head minutely.

He did not want her to know.

"Your pet hero," Ganondorf continued, reaching down to pet Link's head through the hat in a parody of affection, "Is not so much _your_ pet hero as, well, _my_ pet." And he hooked his fingers around the back of the collar Link still wore, dragging it backwards. Link choked.

"Your pet hero," he chuckled, "Has spent his days on his knees beside me and his nights in my bed. Did you know, Princess, that he willingly spreads his legs for me? Could you have ever guessed, little Zelda, that your _Hero of Time_ likes to beg for me to fuck him?" He laughed outright, letting go of the collar and shoving Link hard, sending him sprawling.

And then there was a heavy boot on his chest. If Ganondorf so wanted, he could crack ribs - Link stared up at him, eyes wide and stomach tight in horror, silently pleading for no more.

She could not know what he had done.

But it was already too late, wasn't it? The Princess was still watching, her lips parted in shock, her eyes wide and hurt.

Already, she knew.

"In fact," Ganondorf murmured, and he reached for Link again, tugging him to his chest in the parody of an embrace, "Your Hero of Time has been the most attentive of pets. Did you know, for instance, that he enjoys pain? No wonder he fled to my arms!" A guffaw, and this time, he reached up to pluck Link's hat off, stroking his hair. " _Princess Zelda ruined my life,_ " he parodied, recalling the words Link had told him all those weeks ago. " _She made a really big mistake counting on me, because I'm really not a hero._ Remember those words, pet?"

He sounded so amused about it - that was almost the worst part. Link gazed at the carpet and did not move - he did not want to see the hurt on Princess Zelda's face.

"Still. It hasn't been all bad." Tugging the cord out of Link's hair, he ruffled it gently. "Just the other night, Princess, the kid let all of my friends fuck him, too. Wasn't that fun, pet?"

Remembered pain twinged, radiating up Link's spine. He felt stricken, unable to fight back, unable to deny it. The most he could do was shake his head, a movement so infinitesimally small that he could barely feel it himself.

No, it certainly had not been fun. Phantom hands ghosted over his skin. He shuddered.

Ganondorf's voice dropped, mouth moving within centimeters of Link's ear. "I think we should give her a demonstration, don't you think, pet?" And no sooner had Link registered the words was he being shoved, forced to the carpet, the fabric rough under his cheek. "It's all well and good to speak of what he's been doing, though," he continued, voice raised for Zelda's benefit, "But how much better will it be, Princess, for you to get a demonstration, in the flesh?"

He was going to -- Link shook his head furiously, twisting beneath the Gerudo's more powerful grip. "No!"

The slap aimed at his face sent him reeling, breath escaping raggedly. Beneath the pain, there was the faintest hint of pleasure - and he took hold of it, forcing it down, blocking it out.

He could not do this. Not in front of Zelda. Not any more.

He had made his choice, and now every fibre of his being was screaming for escape.

"Now, Princess," the Gerudo murmured, dragging one of Link's boots off almost delicately, "Watch closely."

Link shut his eyes, trying to twist away, kick up futilely, escape his toxic grasp. He let out a faint growl when the other boot was tugged off and received a leaden blow in return, his hands liberated of the silver gauntlets and pinned briefly beneath the weight of Ganondorf's own. The tunic was being pushed up around his hips, bunching up around the belt, and Link kicked out - then gasped raggedly as thick fingers hooked into the back of his collar and pulled hard.

"Behave, pet," Ganondorf growled, and Link went limp, head pounding at the lack of air.

He could not fight like this. Ganondorf was too strong for him, too big, too powerful. Link's struggles had been spectacularly useless. He was still merely a pet, a plaything for Ganondorf's whims.

With a soft moan, Link buried his face in his arms. No bonds held him in place, nothing but his own fear and shame immobilised him now.

When large hands settled on his hips almost tenderly, he let out his breath - slow, shaky, almost a sob hidden in it. And when those fingers hooked over his waistband and slid down, achingly slowly, he squeezed his eyes shut even tighter and prayed to be somewhere else, anywhere else, other than here.

Farore had chosen him, hadn't that been what the Princess had said? She had blessed him with the Triforce of Courage. Now, he called out to her, pleaded, begged - if he could endure this, he would need courage. And right now, he did not feel he had any.

He longed for it to end, even as it had only just started. His body, beneath Ganondorf's hands, reacted with a will of its own, independent of what he wanted - his treacherous skin tingled at the touch even as his mind screamed for Ganondorf to get away from him. He did not want this. He did not want this - not this touch, not any more.

Ganondorf was cruel. He was cruel and he hated Link and he wanted to hurt him and he always had.

There had been no true affection, only false kindness. There would be no chance of redemption. He had treated his own people like dirt, even after professing to kill in their name - what did Link possibly expect him to treat him like?

This was not affection. This was not respect. This was not a place where he could feel safe; it was no place he could belong. The pain he had inflicted before and inflicted now was for the sake of inflicting pain. It had never been meant as pleasure, not really.

Someone was sobbing, the sound of someone in heartrending pain, in terrible torment. It took Link a moment to realise that it was not the Princess.

Now, more than ever, he felt alone.

Princess Zelda was inaccessible in her prison of glass, helpless to stop him. Navi was long gone. Saria had departed this world, now bound to the Sacred Realm.

Ganondorf had proven to be the most unkind of masters and seemed intent on causing pain - there was no gentleness about his movements now, no consideration of the smaller body beneath him.

And Sheik... Link's breath caught in a choked, gasping sob. Sheik, whom he had adored, whom he had stolen away to spend time with, whom he had spent hours with, holding his hand, head on his shoulder, gazing out at the sky, had betrayed them - had betrayed him - in the worst possible way.

Dampness trickled across Link's cheek, disappearing into his hair.

"You see how compliant he is, Princess?" Ganondorf said softly, brushing the back of his hand against Link's cheek in faux affection. "You see how I don't even have to restrain him?" He let out a laugh, head thrown back, outrageously amused at the smaller body beneath him. "He's become used to this. Do you think this little example of rebellion is enough to override everything he's been taught to do?"

Reaching out to grab hold of the collar, he dragged him up, pressing his lips against Link's own then biting down. "You would have returned," he murmured, a smile curving on his lips. "Between being alone and being with me, you'd come scurrying back to sit at my feet any day. Isn't that right, pet?"

Tenderly, he reached for Link's hand, patting it. "I," he said, "Am going to take the piece of the Triforce you possess. And then I am going to take the piece that Princess Zelda possesses. And then I will rule Hyrule - _forever_!"

He laughed again, almost choking on his own triumph, his movements becoming faster and more erratic. Link fell back against the carpet with a dull thump, tucking his hand close - if Ganondorf gained the entire Triforce, he would, most likely, be unstoppable.

All because he had not been able to find the courage to go to two more temples when he had had the chance. Just two - just two temples, and he could have ended this...

All because he hadn't been brave enough.

All because he hadn't been good enough.

All because he had let people down.

The world around him blurred. His eyes felt hot, itching at the edges.

He hurt, and this time it was not the good sort of pain. There was no affection behind it. No intent for pleasure. This was not Sheik, unintentionally hurting him at the lake and that being okay because that was what he wanted, and then he stopped himself because that memory hurt as well.

He would be back in Ganondorf's bed by the day's end, wouldn't he? And this time, there would be no chance to wander freely. There would be more casual cruelty, more parties where he was to be entertainment. Perhaps Princess Zelda would suffer the same sad fate. Perhaps Ganondorf would just kill her.

Perhaps Ganondorf would just kill him.

He barely took notice when Ganondorf finished with him, pulling away, leaving him bloodstained and filthy on the carpet. He hardly noticed the tears drying on his face, the pain in his body, up his spine, in his chest. His only movement was to reach down slowly, tugging the tunic down, hiding what Ganondorf had done from Zelda's view.

What was the point of resisting? Link had already been defeated.

"Do you see?" Ganondorf said softly, rising to his feet leisurely and straightening his clothing. "Do you see what has become of your Hero of Time, little girl? He's nothing more than a toy, now."

With a sound of shattering glass, the crystal broke, and Princess Zelda crumpled to the floor. Distantly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a flare of blue, and another crystal formed around her, a protective barrier of her own making. Slowly, she backed away, her expression resolute, one hand raised.

"He's still the Hero of Time," she said softly, "And the Goddesses chose him for a reason."

Ganondorf barked out a laugh. "The Goddesses chose _me_!" he shouted and raised his hand, the Triforce of Power blazing forth. The corresponding mark on Link's hand burnt, and he stared at it, eyes unfocused. "I was the one chosen to bring strength to this pathetic land!"

"You're wrong," Zelda murmured, still moving, still not letting Ganondorf close. "You took this land by force. We will restore it."

He laughed again, wild, deranged. "This land should belong to _me_!" he almost shouted, and Link cringed, squeezing his eyes shut, hands raised to block his ears, brushing the tip of a wing that fluttered anxiously in front of his face, a blue glow visible even through his eyelids -

Slowly, Link opened his eyes, already sore from his earlier tears but beginning to water again. Navi's glow was bright enough to almost dazzle him, and he could not help but simply stare.

"Be brave, Link," she whispered, reaching out to rest a tiny hand on his cheek, "It's almost over!"

And Sheik was there, crumpled on his knees beside Link, gazing at his burnt and blistered hands. At his feet rested the Master Sword, and he reached for one of Link's hands with his own injured ones.

"It's time to end this," he said simply, a sheen of sweat from the pain on his face.

Sheik had brought him the Master Sword? Navi was here? For a moment, Link did not understand.

Beyond, Ganondorf was still laughing - the barrier around Princess Zelda was sputtering and fading, leaving her caught between a wall and the Gerudo. "You saw how I broke your little Hero," he laughed, advancing on the trapped princess. "Wasn't that fun to watch?"

Link reached out, curling his fingers around the hilt of the sword. Princess Zelda was in trouble, and he was the Hero of Time - this was his destiny, to protect her.

"How would you like to join him? A former princess will be a great trophy!"

Carefully, he got to his knees, and then his feet. His clothes were disheveled, the tunic torn, his bare legs bloodied and bruised and stained. He had been failing himself and failing everyone else around him - now the Master Sword was in his hand again.

Zelda stopped, backed against the wall, and let out a laugh of her own. Ganondorf froze, his hands balling into fists.

"You're not going to break me," she told him, and raised her chin. "You only think that you're going to win this."

Pain made Link's feet falter, the urge to lie down and sleep for a very long time overwhelming, but there would be no rest until he saw his task through. Link took a step towards Ganondorf. And then he took another, and then he took one more.

"You're not going to break me!" she repeated, giddy and laughing and a wild fierce light in her eyes, " _And you have not broken him!_ "

Link raised the sword high and swung.

For an almost comical moment, Ganondorf froze, one hand drifting to the blade of the Master Sword protruding through his chest. Behind him, Link was glad not to see his face, and doubly glad that Ganondorf could not see his - he hurt, he was exhausted, he was afraid and he was exhilarated, he was laughing silently and he was crying openly.

Triforce of Courage, indeed. It blazed on the back of his hand, bright enough to illuminate the features of his face.

"Six Sages," the Princess whispered, then raised her hands high. "Now!"

And blinding light filled the room, the sword growing hot in his hands, a pulse of sheer power almost sending him to his knees as Ganondorf was wrenched away from where he was impaled on the sword. The Sacred Realm was his destination now, and he threw back his head and screamed.

"You - curse you, Zelda - curse you, Sages!" And then he twisted around, fixing Link with a glare that made a chill of terror race across his skin. "Curse you... Link!" he roared, and the white became almost overwhelming.

"Some day," he hissed, "When this seal is broken... that is when I will _exterminate your descendents_!"

And then the light overtook everything. Slowly, like a toy whose strings had been cut, Link dropped to the floor, and the sword clattered as it bounced out of his hand.

It was only dimly that he was aware of the ground beginning to shake, of urgent hands reaching for him. "We have to go," Sheik told him, voice low and intense, "This fortress only stands because of Ganondorf's power."

Numbly, Link nodded, reaching for the sword again and allowing his feet to take him onwards.

They passed the doors to Ganondorf's chambers, where he had spent so many nights in his bed.

They ran down the endless stairs, where he had taken tentative footstep after tentative footstep as he promised to swear his life away.

They avoided Stalfos and ReDead, the last remnants of Ganondorf's guard, making little move to escape to freedom as they prepared to go down with the fortress.

And then they emerged out into air, a rainbow bridge guiding their feet to safety.

Link crumpled where they stood, his eyes closing of their own accord. Such a profound exhaustion had overwhelmed him - his great task completed, his body collapsed beneath him, taxed beyond what reserves he had left.

Distantly, as if in a half-remembered dream, he felt hands reaching for him - but these would not hurt, did not mean harm. As Link let himself sink into unconsciousness, the faintest of smiles touched his lips - from around his throat, he could feel the collar crumbling into dust, whisked away by the breeze.

The first of his shackles had come undone.

 

The inn at Kakariko had become a home in the days following Ganondorf's defeat.

For nearly two days, Link had slept. He needed time, according to the healer, a half-heard conversation on the other side of the door in a brief moment of awareness. Time to recover from injuries both physical and emotional - while the physical wounds inflicted on him by Ganondorf would heal quickly, the bruises, the blood, everything from both in and out of bed, the damage done to his mind... well, they would be a different story altogether.

When he finally awoke more fully, sunlight pouring in through the window and the smell of clean linen in the air, Link found himself alone. And that was a good thing, he decided, curling on his side to gaze at the view out the window.

Kakariko Village was as lively as ever. Somewhere outside of his field of view, a bustling market day took place, cuccos clucking and children playing. He smiled - Ganondorf's defeat would allow Hyrule to thrive once more.

But what of himself?

Smile fading, he settled back against the pillows. What of himself? He had spent the last two months in the bed of the King of Evil, blind to the suffering of the rest of the world in a futile bid to escape his own. The Gerudo, Ganondorf's own people - he had used them as slaves, stolen even their right to freedom. The Gorons had been offered up as a meal to a dragon that Ganondorf had resurrected. The Zoras had been frozen. Had the Domain thawed yet? He did not know.

Had he pressed on, had he gritted his teeth and moved on to each new temple, perhaps he could have alleviated their suffering. Heroes were not meant to be selfish. But what other name had there been for it?

And even his attempted escape from suffering had not been successful, had it? He had allowed himself to sink low, to do things that he never should have allowed himself to do. He had allowed himself to be nothing more than a disposable puppet. He had put Princess Zelda in danger. He had allowed her to see -

A choked sound escaped his throat. She had seen everything, hadn't she? She had been witness to exactly how low he had sunk. Disgust curdled in his stomach, shame prompted him to curl in on himself, face buried in the pillow.

For the past months, he had relinquished control to the most evil man in living memory. He had been a pet, a toy, and had allowed suffering to take place while he pushed his own aside. He had hurt people, and he had hurt himself. He had done terrible things.

With one shaking hand, he reached up to draw the curtains shut then settled down beneath the blankets again. If it was time he needed, he hadn't had nearly enough...

 

Navi had been the first to learn that he was awake, flying in through a cracked-open door in an almost subdued way. She had already made it to the bed, settling down on the pillow when she had noticed that her charge was not asleep - with a startled cry, she practically threw herself at him, a blue ball of light attempting to hug him senseless. She was crying, little sniffles audible, dampness against his nightshirt. "...Hey. I really missed you."

"Missed you too," he whispered, voice cracked and hoarse from disuse.

She gave him a watery smile, burrowing close, protected by the folds of his clothing and curling up close to his skin. "You don't have to worry about a thing, okay? Me and Princess Zelda and Sheik -" Link winced, and Navi hastily corrected herself - "Me and the Princess, we're gonna take care of you, okay? She's been really worried about you!"

Link's expression twisted, and he glanced away from the fairy. "She doesn't think I'm -" Weak? Disgusting? A failure? "She still wants to see me?"

Navi fell silent, perhaps guessing some of his thoughts - she had witnessed the end of it all, too. "She's strong. And smart, and - and _nice_. Of course she still wants to see you, dummy!" A blow from a tiny fairy fist meant very little to a mostly-grown Hylian, and he gave her a crooked smile, too faint and sad to be truly genuine.

"She had to watch Ganondorf fuck me," he said softly, and this time it was Navi's turn to wince. "I didn't even try to fight back, I let him do it..." Link's voice cracked, vision swimming suddenly. "In the end, I was almost too scared to do anything. I'm really not a hero. I don't deserve this."

He held his hand up, the Triforce mark glimmering gently.

For a moment, Navi was silent, then flew up to rest a hand directly over the brightest triangle. "Courage isn't about not being scared," she said seriously, drawing up to her full height, warmth practically radiating off her glow. "Courage is about doing what has to be done even if you _are_ scared. You're brave, Link. You're the bravest person I know, and I'm really glad that you're my Kokiri."

And then the world simply blurred too much to see. Link turned his hand inwards, cupping Navi's smaller body in his hand, drawing her closer. She curled in closer, hugging his fingers, dropping a barely-detectable kiss on one of them.

"You'll get through this," she whispered, "I promise. I'm not gonna let you down ever again."

"Thanks," he murmured back and let his eyes close again.

If Navi believed he could do it, the one person who had always had his safety and well-being at heart, the one person for whom Link had been her main priority since the day they had met, perhaps he really could start again.


	13. Hunting For Shells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: References to and memories of rape, reference to prostitution, self-loathing, working through trauma.

_One week_

The inn at Kakariko was no substitute for a castle, yet Zelda had found it a sanctuary.

She had been appointed the largest of the rooms there by the proprietress, who had been all too happy to host the newly returned Queen of Hyrule - oh, Zelda had not been officially crowned yet, and there was definitely no castle for her to return to, but Hyrule had rallied around what remained of their Royal Family and seemed determined to at least _treat_ her as a queen.

It was a pleasant distraction. In the days that had followed Ganondorf's defeat, the sheer magnitude of the work she would have to engage in to restore Hyrule had dawned on her, almost overwhelming in its scale.

Hyrule had fared badly beneath Ganondorf's hand. She was determined to heal its wounds.

And it was not just the land who needed healing. Zelda's gaze softened as she lifted her head from the letter she was writing to their neighbours, a smile tugging at her lips as she laid eyes on a set of sprawling limbs on one of the beds. While Zelda slept alone in a smaller, more private chamber, and Sheik had his own room on its other side, the other bed in the main room had been claimed rather immediately.

Link slept peacefully, Navi nestled on the pillow beside him, looking more like the boy who had first promised to help her and less like the wounded young man she had seen at Ganondorf's fortress. He had spoken nothing of the ordeal he had been through to her, and she had had to ask Sheik for the truth - slowly, reluctantly, he had explained it all.

Link deserved a few peaceful nights of rest, she thought.

But now he stirred, raising a hand to blink at her muzzily. "What time is it?" he asked through a yawn, then immediately snapped his mouth shut, adding on, "Princess?" in a rather embarrassed way.

She chuckled a little. "Not dinner time yet," she teased gently, setting her pen down. "But I can have something brought up for you if you are hungry. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," he said almost automatically, gaze dropping to the blanket. "I can wait for dinner."

That hadn't been what she had asked, and both she and Link knew it. But they had also tiptoed around the true topic at hand for the better part of a week - Link had volunteered nothing, and Zelda had asked no questions. Watching the way he shifted and fidgeted with the blanket, she decided that they could delay no longer.

"Link," she murmured, and his face fell. "We have to talk about this."

He laid himself down again, turning to face the wall. "Why?" he asked softly, and the plaintive sound of his voice made her heart twist.

"Because you're hurting." And he was not the only one - her throat felt tight, her chest like a coiled rubber band ready to snap. "Because we both need this. Because you need help - more help than I can give you. Because I want to say sorry."

The laugh he let out was soft and sorrowful. "You didn't do anything wrong," he murmured mostly to the pillow. "I need to say sorry more than you."

Zelda shook her head fiercely and rose from her seat, settling herself on the very end of Link's bed. "No you don't," she pleaded. "Link, this is all my fault. I was the one who thought I could control the Sacred Realm. I was the one who handed you the ocarina. Sheik -" a wince from the Hero - "Was under my employ, I should have ordered him to tell me what was happening, I could have prevented this!"

Already, her voice was thick with tears.

"Everything that happened, in the end, was because of _me_. Everything you had to go through, being forced to grow up, being forced to fight, everything that _he_ did - _Princess Zelda ruined my life_ \- it's true, and I will never stop trying to make it up to you. I swear on Hyrule!"

Finally, Link turned, blank blue eyes taking in the sobbing princess. And solely, carefully, he reached for one of her hands.

"Thanks," he whispered, squeezing gently. "I think I want to go back to sleep now, okay?"

Zelda nodded and rose from the bed, shaken and weary, feeling like a wrung-out sponge. Link settled back amongst the pillows and blankets and reached out to gently cup a hand around the still-sleeping Navi, and she let him be, her expression becoming resolved even as she returned to her desk.

Even if it took a very long time, she would ensure that he would find his happiness.

_Two weeks, four days_

He had hurt Link, hadn't he?

Sheik had found himself with somewhat of a dilemma in the days and weeks following the defeat of the Gerudo tyrant. He had found freedom, an honesty that he hadn't been able to express for seven years, and he was determined to find purpose in helping Link to heal - but Link, it seemed, had wanted no part in this.

And he understood.

Because of him, Link had suffered. He should have insisted - demanded that Link press on to the other temples. Certainly, he would not have gotten the chance to know the innocent hero (or formerly innocent, his mind helpfully reminded him) like he did now...

But perhaps he would have spared him the horrors he had endured.

Watching Link swing his bare legs in the lake, a rare excursion to the lake bringing to two in contact for the first time in weeks, Sheik let his eyes close. How could he help him? How could he possibly make things better for him? He had been attentive to the best of his ability without Link allowing him near, leaving him treats and gifts, playing gentle songs through shared walls. It had only been in recent days that Link had spoken to him, a soft, "Thank you" for some sweet treat, the rare word of acknowledgment when his protection of Zelda brought the two in contact.

Collecting the reddest, ripest, sweetest-smelling apple he could find, he approached slowly, offering the fruit to Link. Perhaps Navi would disapprove - but with the fairy off stretching her wings, he could venture close to her charge without fear of a scolding.

Link glanced up in surprise, blue eyes startled, before accepting it with a murmured thanks. Sheik gave him a quick smile and turned - then stopped short as a soft, "Sheik?" halted him in his tracks.

He turned back. Link gazed out at the lake, the apple loose in his hands. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry. But..."

But? Sheik practically held his breath.

"But I don't think we should be together any more."

So this was what it would come to. Sheik sank down in the grass, gaze on the hero. He had wondered - they had come together for comfort in the castle, but perhaps he now served as a reminder, a living memory of everything he had been forced into. "Link, I am so..." The Sheikah's voice was ragged. He had dreaded this, heat and pressure behind his eyes. He deserved this. "I cannot possibly apologise to you enough for the things I said and did. I had to make him believe that I was not a threat - he had to let me go so I could retrieve the sword - I am sorry. I am so sorry, Link."

"I know," Link said softly, still gazing out at the lake. "But it's so hard to look at you right now. You did something really bad to me." He glanced down at his hands, knotted around the apple. "I think I can forgive you. I just can't do it yet."

Sheik nodded. Link needed time and space, he needed to heal, he needed to learn about himself, and he needed to be safe.

And if he could not do that with Sheik around, then he would gladly step back. "You are important to me, and yet I inflicted atrocities upon you," he agreed quietly, and Link nodded once.

"I was still -" There was a faint splash as he drew his feet out of the water, hugging his knees to his chest. "I had only been a kid a few days before, and - you knew Ganondorf was evil. You knew he'd hurt me. But you still suggested it. I'm not sure I can trust you. You lied to me about a lot of things."

The worst part of it, perhaps, was how flat and resigned Link's words were. "What do you want me to do?" Sheik prompted.

There was silence for a small eternity.

"It's okay if I still see you around," he finally said grudgingly, "Since you've got to protect Zelda. But it's too hard to be friends right now. Maybe we will be again, but - it's hard." Silently, Link's hand slid back, reaching out to cover Sheik's. "Give me some time," he said softly, and his blue eyes were distant. "Please. I want us to be friends again some time, but I need time to think about it first."

Sheik smiled sadly, feeling his heart grow heavy in his chest. If this would truly help Link, then he could not deny it. "I think I can do that."

_One month, three weeks, one day_

Link turned restlessly, dragging the blankets back over his shoulders.

He had been awakened, earlier, and now sleep was becoming elusive. Of course, this had been somewhat of a trend for the last few months, hadn't it? But tonight, it seemed, it was going to be particularly bad.

Although it had only been for a little while, comparatively, he had become accustomed to sharing his bed. Sleeping alone with no one but Navi resting quietly nearby, like he had for almost the past two months, had become... foreign to him.

Ganondorf's fortress had changed him. It had not been for the better. Now, he eyed men in the street suspiciously, stayed close to Zelda. Red hair got a wide berth, and the first time he had seen Malon in the town it had earned her nothing but a murmured apology and an attempt to hurry away as quickly as possible. Tall and strong-looking men got both the faintest hints of desire and a larger heaping of wariness. Often, he would reach up to brush his fingertips against a collar that was no longer there.

His feelings had not changed. But hadn't they been wrong as well, proof that Ganondorf had corrupted him, somehow? Hadn't he learnt that feeling like that lead to nothing but pain and that pain was a bad thing?

Link rolled over again, a frown on his face. Things had changed without Sheik at his side, and with the space beside him cold and empty, sleep would continue to be elusive.

_Four months, two days_

On her own in the Temple of Time, Zelda closed her eyes and concentrated.

Deep in meditation, now, she exhaled slowly, feeling her body grow light and insubstantial, the cold of almost-winter fading away. Outside, her guards awaited her - but contact with the Chamber of the Sages was a solemn and complicated affair, and the leader of the seven sages had to face it alone.

Breathe in - the cold marble faded. Breathe out - she felt nothing. Breathe in - the air grew warm around her.

Breathe out - the sound of nothingness reached her ears, and she opened her eyes to find Impa waiting for her with open arms.

"I should have waited," she said, some time later, Impa's arm around the exhausted queen's shoulders. "What if we had hidden the stones? You could have trained Link as well as Sheik and I, until he was old enough to claim the sword on his own."

"You have the gift of precognition," Impa told her patiently, "But even you can't see everything. You didn't know that the Master Sword would send him to sleep, did you?"

"No, but -"

Impa rested a finger against Zelda's lips, and she stopped sheepishly. "What happened, happened. The only thing that matters now is what happens in the present and the future. What do you think is the best choice now?"

Zelda shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. I had considered sending him back to his childhood, so he could grow up like any normal person - but he still needs help, and I don't think he could get it in the past. He's still affected by what happened."

"Then help him," Impa murmured and pressed a kiss to her substitute daughter's forehead. "I have no doubt that you will be magnificent."

Zelda smiled, and when she departed a little while later, it was with a lighter heart, granting Sheik with a smile when she returned to the temple. "Impa sends her love," she said, stepping closer to her guard, "And she asked me to give this to you."

Sheik accepted the letter curiously, unfolding the paper and scanning it. His face fell somewhat. "She still believes I need to forgive myself?" His voice was uncertain, expression doubtful. "I accept responsibility, but forgiving myself may take a little longer."

"Take your time," the princess reassured him, reaching for his hand. "We can do this together - we have to, for his sake."

"For his sake," he repeated brokenly and hung his head. "I'm trying, I am. But it's hard - every time I see him, it's - the Hero of Time flinches at shadows because of me, Zelda!"

Perhaps it was not proper of Sheikah and Royal, but Zelda slipped her arm around his shoulders, tilting her head to rest against his. "He'll forgive you in time," she whispered, praying to the Goddesses that it would be true, "But you have to forgive yourself first. You want to be with him again, don't you? Even if you're to regain his friendship, things must be made right before that happens."

Sheik let out a soft and bitter laugh. "If he never wants me to touch him again, I will not blame him in the slightest. I don't deserve someone like him."

"You deserve to be happy as well." Zelda's eyes closed, comfortable with Sheik here in the temple. She had forgiven Sheik, understood what he had had to face. Forgiving himself, though - that would be the greater task.

She would not stop until the both of them were happy again.

_Seven months, one week, six days_

"I still like some really bad things," Link concluded softly and sat back with a sigh.

This entire endeavour of talking to someone, working things out, had started out strange and had just gotten stranger. Zelda had assured him that the woman she had found for him to talk to could be trusted, and indeed, Link had found himself spilling things that he normally would have kept secret to her - his fears, his doubts, his hidden shames, even the perverse desires he hadn't quite been able to shake.

He was exceptionally glad that he had sent Navi off, relinquishing her near-constant guard of him for the evening. There were some things he just didn't want her to hear...

The woman he was speaking to hadn't judged him, at least. Perhaps that was what made the difference between the rest of the population and, well... women of this line of work.

And yet it was still uncomfortable, talking about how much he had hated the party in one breath, admitting that he still wanted someone to take control of his life again with the next. Zelda did look after him, it was true - but no, it was not quite the same.

"Oh honey, please, you should see what the last guy wanted me to do," she said with a chuckle, and Link smiled despite himself. "It isn't bad if it's healthy and consensual, got it? We're all pretty damn diverse in bed. What happened to you was bad, sure, but you're not the one to blame there - that Gerudo bastard was. What he forced you to do wasn't healthy and wasn't consensual."

Consent. Even after she had introduced him to the concept, he still found it troubling. "But I said yes," he said with a sigh, "Aside from that last one - doesn't that mean they could do that?"

She shook her head, reaching out to pat her hand. "Consent's not a contract, sweetie. You know my work - well, I'm still allowed to say no if I think he's a creep who does _not_ know how to show a lady - or a strapping young lad like you - a good time. That bastard coerced and threatened you. Unless you really understood and wanted it, he forced you - and you've gotta realise that you were the victim here before you can begin to heal from it."

Link exhaled. A victim - he hadn't understood it at the time, not at all. "But what if just a part of me wanted it?" he asked, voice small. "Doesn't that mean that I did consent?"

"A part is not the whole." She gave him a sad smile, reaching out to give his shoulder a squeeze. "Look, you gotta think about it carefully, alright? Try to decide whether you really understood and wanted to do what he wanted you to do. It's not a bad thing," she continued softly, her painted lips curving in a smile, "Being able to recognise what you want. And from there, you can begin to heal."

Healing... Link nodded once and stood, readying himself to depart. As he thanked her, he found a faint smile on his face.

"When you do, you can meet some friends of mine," she called in parting, and the smile quirked at the corners as he took his leave.

He could not wait to begin to heal.

_Eleven months, one day_

Where once there had been an abomination, there was now a lake.

Where once there had been a shattered town, a new castle stood.

And in the fields and greenery and fresh clean air, stretching towards the lake, a new town had risen from the ashes of the old.

It had been with great ceremony that Zelda had moved into the newly rebuilt castle, her faithful Sheikah protector close at hand. He was to have a room off her own, the Queensguard to the end, granted a new uniform to mark his status as the personal protector of the queen. Link and Navi had been granted a room of their own just down the hall - he was, Zelda had explained to others, to be trained as her knight.

In the mean time, Sheik was to watch over him as well as his queen, a duty he took just as seriously as the one ordained by divinity. A part of him would always blame himself for everything that happened to Link; even if he seemed reasonably well-adjusted a year on, Sheik suspected that his healing would be slow.

He knew Link still had nightmares. He knew Link kept his head down and hurried through the streets of New Castle Town, afraid and unsure of scrutiny being cast upon him. Zelda had told the public how Link had awakened the sages and helped seal the King of Evil - but even though she had omitted the details on how that had come about, Sheik still watched as Link closed himself off from others.

From others, and from Sheik. They were, perhaps, friendly acquaintances, exchanging words as they passed in the halls, able to sit and partake in a meal together with Zelda, the conversation light and insubstantial but still there.

Perhaps Zelda could help him come out of his shell a little - little by little, like a snail cautious about the world around him. Perhaps he could.

He'd find a way.

_One year, one month, three weeks, two days_

"- and the mountain path has officially been reopened, one of the Gorons has already set up trade in Kakariko."

Link let a quick smile cross his face. "I'm glad the mountain is calm," he murmured, sitting back in his seat, "The last time I went up, I only saw one tektite, and there wasn't any rumbling at all." It was a welcome change - Death Mountain, despite the fearsome name, was a sanctuary where he could sit and watch the sun rise, where he could visit the Gorons and escape any reminder of the world below.

Sometimes, he'd even watch the sun set.

"It's a reassurance for Kakariko, too," Zelda agreed. "The constant threat of eruptions does tend to hinder things, doesn't it? And things have been busy there lately - the bazaar is going to have two locations now, and Sheik has been setting up Impa's house for the children -"

She stopped herself, but Link had already felt his heart sink into his stomach.

"Things are still strained between you," she guessed softly, and he nodded once. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he said, giving her a tight smile. "Um, what were you saying about Impa's house?"

But Zelda shook her head, hands folding on the table. "When was the last time you spoke to him alone?" she asked gently. "I'm sorry, but I really have to know."

Link fidgeted. How long had it been? Over a year, now - every meeting, every encounter had been in the company of others or so fleeting they had barely counted. "The Spirit Temple," he muttered, and Zelda's frown deepened. "It doesn't matter, okay? It still reminds me - he probably doesn't want to -"

"He misses you," she said, and he stopped short. "Enormously. If you request it, he will stay away because he has never, ever forgiven himself, and if that is your choice, then I will respect it as well. But how is it making _you_ feel?"

With a soft sigh, he dropped his head. "I still miss him a little," he finally said, realising only when the words had left his mouth that it was true. "But I still also don't trust him. What am I supposed to do?"

"Talk to him," Zelda said, meeting his gaze and reaching out to squeeze his hand. "And see if you can work out a path to move down together."

Finally, Link nodded. Tomorrow he would set things right.

_One year, one month, three weeks, three days_

"Come in," Sheik called absently when the knock sounded on his door. The door swung open. And Sheik's book dropped to the floor.

Of all the people who could have appeared at his door, Link (with Navi in tow) was not one he had been expecting, and he peered past him to see if Zelda was perhaps waiting behind him. "Hi," Link murmured, shifting awkwardly, "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Picking up the book to set on the table, Sheik slowly straightened up. "Does Zelda need me for something?"

Link shook his head once. "I wanted to talk to you," he mumbled, so quiet that his words were barely audible.

Sheik nodded, not taking his eyes off the Hylian. "Where do you want to start?" he prompted gently.

Settling on the spare chair, Link swung one foot idly, gaze more on the floor than on Sheik. "I've been seeing people," he said bluntly, the conviction in his voice tempered somewhat by the lack of eye contact. "Others like me. They're nice people."

"And," Navi pointed out from over his shoulder, "I met them too, and I trust _them_."

The implication was obvious - Navi was protective of Link to the point of paranoia, and she never really had forgiven him. Breath caught in his throat, Sheik gazed at Link in some discomfort. Others like him? Or others like Ganondorf, who caused pain without kindness behind it? But Navi seemed to approve, and Link lifted his head to meet his gaze, and there was a fierceness in there, as if he was silently daring Sheik to judge his actions.

Sheik swallowed roughly. "Are they kind to you? Truly?"

Link nodded. "They're not like _him_ ," he said pointedly, and there was a brief hint of indecision on his face. Uncertainty about the situation, perhaps? But no - the indecision disappeared, replaced with resolve, and he pressed onwards - "I'm not going to let that happen again, Sheik. What you suggested - it, well..." Fidgeting with one sleeve, he forced the words out. "What you suggested was really bad, and you shouldn't have interfered like that."

There it was, then. They had both known it, hadn't they? Sheik had borne his guilt for a year or more, and he knew Link had quietly held this resentment in his heart. But he had barely spoken a word of it - always, it had been blame turned inwards, recriminations of his own fear, his weaknesses, his perceived cowardice.

If Link had begun to blame him, then that meant he could no longer blame himself, and Sheik would gladly take the brunt of it.

No matter how much it stung.

"I know," he finally said, voice cracking. "I wanted to protect Zelda, and I got in over my head. I saw you as a means to an end. I used you." And he lifted his head, meeting hurt blue eyes. "If you never forgive me, then I will accept it. Your happiness should be your priority - you are not a tool to be used."

("And don't forget it!" Navi muttered.)

Link was silent for a moment, and then, carefully, a faint smile crossed his face. "I'm trying to forgive you," he assured Sheik, "It's just taking a bit of time. But I can do it, and I want us to try to be friends again. We just have to take it slow."

Sheik, suddenly, had found it rather hard to breathe.

He had not realised how much he needed this - how much he desperately needed to be forgiven by someone he had started to care for. When Link had simply been a stranger he had made a serious error in judgment towards, one he had expected to never forgive him, it had been a quiet hurt. But this, someone he was beginning to truly care for, someone who was prepared to forgive him... the idea of it left him quietly stunned.

"We can rebuild this," he found himself saying, "Slowly and properly. We need to start on strong foundations before anything can be rebuilt, correct?"

Link offered him a quick little smile, like a glimpse of the sun from behind the clouds, and Sheik felt his heart twinge painfully in his chest. "I'd like that," he murmured and reached forward to lace his fingers with Sheik's.

_One year, four months, one week, five days_

The late autumn air was crisp and cool as Zelda settled down on her balcony to watch her boys fondly.

Sheik had been granted a rare day off, and Link, much to his surprise, had requested that he spend it with him. These days, time together was rare, so she was glad for this opportunity, this chance for the both to heal.

They had both found purpose, after all. Amidst his duties protecting her, Sheik had discovered that he enjoyed helping others and was a frequent and enthusiastic participant in the various charities she had started to help the people of Hyrule recover. Perhaps he was repenting for the harm he believed he had caused earlier. Either way, she was pleased to see the occasional smile on his face, brief moments of true relaxation and calm.

And Link - Link had been a surprise. He had, slowly but surely, regained his earlier confidence. He had found new purpose at the ranch, caring for the animals, Navi his constant company, red hair no longer making him flinch away. He had found others like him - others that shared his... preferences, and although both she and Sheik had been suspicious initially, she had learnt that the people he had met were kind and were respectful of his wishes and gentle besides.

It had been an unconventional way to heal.

And yet it had been rewarding, and the lightness she could sense around Link was payoff for it. He was beginning to learn that his feelings were not wrong, that he was not sick or bad for wanting the things he wanted - to be dominated, to submit, that wanting to surrender did not make him any less of a hero.

It was nice to see what miracles could be wrought with the help of understanding and consent and properly set boundaries. Slowly but surely, they were both beginning to heal.

And for herself... she exhaled, setting down her cup. Perhaps she would feel guilty forever, but perhaps, as her boys healed, she would as well. For now, even as a work in progress, she could breathe a little easier as she watched them.

Perhaps they, all three of them, would be all right.

_One year, seven months, four weeks, one day_

He had missed the music.

Between his duties and Link's other relationships, his helping others and Link's training, Sheik had had precious little time to spend with Link these days. Their moments had become precious things to be sought after, and now, with the snow blowing furiously outside preventing any escape from the castle, they could find some time to themselves.

Link was... important to Sheik. Even beyond the hurt he had inflicted on him, he could not imagine a life without those vivid blue eyes brightening at the sight of him.

And so they found themselves again in music. Sheik's eyes were closed as he strummed gentle harmonies on the lyre, Link's nimble fingers drawing melodies from the ocarina (technically returned to Zelda but borrowed more often than not), Navi quietly humming along. This was something they could have together with no words spoken, peace and harmony through music.

The song ended, and Link lowered the ocarina to his lap. "I stopped seeing them," he said suddenly, and Sheik glanced up in surprise.

"Why?"

Link shrugged a little, fidgeting with the instrument he held. "I know that the sex was good," he admitted, and Sheik cringed faintly - despite knowing precisely what Link had gone through, there was still always a moment of stunned disbelief when Link spoke so openly about sex - "But there was something that wasn't really right. And I'd rather not have that if I could have something else instead."

His smile was sad and sweet, hopeful and afraid all at the same time. Sheik watched him silently, his mouth going dry.

"I still really like you, Sheik," he said simply and stood, moving over to him. "And I forgive you - I know you had a really hard choice to make. I'm getting better now. And I miss you."

And there it was - the forgiveness he had sought. Sighing gently, Sheik reached for Link's hand, drawing it to his lips and kissing the back tenderly. "I still haven't forgiven myself," he told him in return, voice sad and far away. "And I do not want to rush this. If we are to start a relationship again..."

Link held his breath, those blazing blue eyes gazing down at him hopefully.

"If we are to start a relationship again," he repeated, "This time, we are to do it properly."

"You'd _better_!" Navi warned ferociously, but the smile that touched Link's face could have melted every last drift of snow outside.


	14. Epilogue - Skipping Shells

_Two years_

Where the fortress once had been, there was now a lake.

Link had taken two years to be able to properly face it again. His room in the castle faced out towards the field and not back, and the times he spent in the garden were restricted by his own wishes only to those leading out to Castle Town or to the southeast, where Lake Hylia was. Who needed a small lake, he argued, when he had the big one? Who needed to face that place again?

But now two years had passed. Two years since he had been hurled to his lowest and taken the first few tentative steps up again, where he had freed himself from something that could have stolen his life if he had allowed it to continue.

There were moments where he still missed it. Those moments were rapidly fading.

Now, he had new things to look forward to. He had Sheik and their relationship - fragile, slow, careful, but a precious thing that he cherished beyond all else. He had Zelda and her friendship. He had Navi, a protector, a companion, a guardian, and his closest friend. He had learnt from others, and although those lessons had ended, they were not forgotten. He had spoken on what he had gone through, and he had commiserated with others who had suffered hurts as well.

He was beginning to heal.

One hand in Sheik's and the other in Zelda's, Navi settled on the crown of his head, Link's feet were steady as they took the path up to the lake. The last time Link had taken this path, it was to surrender his life away - this time, he followed in his own footsteps and sought to regain it.

His life was his own, property of no one, and if he chose to entrust it to another, then it would be to someone of his own choosing. Sheik may have become the master of his heart, but Link had learnt that the only master he had to his own destiny was himself.

"It's become beautiful, hasn't it?" Zelda murmured, letting go of Link's hand and taking a few steps forward. "Peace has returned to this land."

Lingering at Sheik's side, Link gave his hand a little swing, a smile touching his face. "Yeah... it's nice."

Trees and grass and flowers, blue skies, and clear, clean water. The taint of seven years had long since been purified.

They settled on its shores, not far from where they had sat and the collar had dissolved away into nothing. Link gazed outwards and smiled, Navi swinging her legs as she perched on his shoulder, head tilted towards Sheik's, tossing pebbles and shells into the pond and saying goodbye to each worry and fear as he did.

If he could say goodbye to each one, they would not have to hold him down any longer.

"Thanks," he told them both softly and closed his eyes, totally and utterly content. Finally, on the shores of what had once been a place of nightmare, he could say goodbye to fear.

Finally, he could rest.

 

**The End**


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